The Central Asian Countries’ Economies in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

Central Asian economic development has been dominated by nation-building and transition from central planning in the 1990s and by the resource boom of the 2000s. Since 2014, with the end of the resource boom, governments recognize that economic diversification is necessary. This chapter argues that there may be a window of opportunity to reorient Central Asia from dependence on primary product exports and remittances to more diversified outward-oriented economies. The catalyst could be reintegration into a Eurasian economy being established by rail services between Europe and China, reinforced by China’s Belt and Road Initiative. To take advantage of the window of opportunity, domestic change will be necessary. The paper analyses the prospects for such change in each of the Central Asian economies.