How to Think About Economic Growth and Job Creation in Central Asia Evaluation Note / Anıl İsmet Aşçı, Berat Yücel

A Comparative Analysis on Economic Dynamics in the Post-Soviet Space

After the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the newly emerged countries can be broadly divided into two main groups: Eastern European (EE) and Caucasus/Central Asian (CCA) countries. Country categorization was done according to these countries’ economic, specifically trade, relations with EU-27 and the Russian Federation.

EE and CCA countries have taken divergent paths in terms of their economic development in the past three decades. The EE countries experienced substantial improvements in medium tech sectors such as automotive, machinery, electronics, and chemicals. On the other hand, the CCA countries have not shown the same level of performance in these sectors. Instead, their industrial development skewed towards resource-based sectors with low value-addition and limited know-how, such as mineral fuels, iron and steel, and precious stones.

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