Economic Development in Kyrgyzstan

Abstract

Kyrgyzstan is a lower middle-income country with a small economy dominated by minerals extraction, agriculture, and reliance on remittances from citizens working abroad. Kyrgyzstan has taken large strides since gaining independence in 1991. Overall, the macroeconomic context in Kyrgyzstan is improving, however, its openness to trade and its reliance on its neighbours (in particular Russia) leaves it vulnerable to events outside its borders (OECD, 2018). In recent years, Kyrgyzstan has maintained a strong development agenda to reduce poverty through inclusive economic growth. This annotated bibliography looks at key documents published since 2014 relating to economic development in Kyrgyzstan. For each resource, a couple of brief paragraphs describe the document including its methodology (where available) and main findings. Then recommendations from the document are highlighted, and any limitations of the report (such as relating to data collection, analysis or findings) are highlighted if stated. A number of further resources have been flagged as footnotes and in the key websites section. The literature was dominated by grey literature, especially reports and working papers from the large international financial institutions, such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank, and UN agencies. Recent peer reviewed literature and empirical evidence was scarcer. Although some academic papers were found, most looked at entrepreneurship and business development and none were explicitly about good governance. Many of the reports did not include limitations or discuss the methodology in detail.