Uzbekistan new indd

participant: “We gather only at specific big events 
organized by the embassy of Uzbekistan, such as the 
Independence Day, Navruz.”
In sum, highly qualified Uzbeks tend not to unite 
in the form of diasporas. Hence there is no critical 
mass of people and, therefore, at present the positive 
effect of diasporas on Uzbekistan is negligible.
34 Y. Niimi, Ç. Özden, and M. Schiff, “Remittances and the Brain Drain: Skilled Migrants Do Remit Less,” IZA Discussion Paper No. 3393. Institute 
for the Study of Labour (IZA), Bonn, 2008.
35 Docquier and Rapoport, “Documenting the Brain Drain of “La Crème de la Crème.”
36 The spring “New Year” public holiday in Uzbekistan.
37 Muslim holiday.

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Marina Kayumova
58
Investments
Experts also point to the possible positive aspect of 
highly skilled emigration, namely the potential for 
investments into the country of origin by people re-
siding abroad. Many highly qualified respondents 
would like to contribute to Uzbekistan in the future. 
When asked, “Are you thinking about investing into 
Uzbekistan in the future?” one male respondent said: 
“I’m already doing that... I’m not getting any profit per-
haps other than getting a prosperous country in which 
I would like to retire one day... Everyone who is out of 
Uzbekistan for a long time, like me, has families there, 
has memories, and is still emotionally connected to 
Uzbekistan.”
Education is an area of particular interest for 
highly qualified emigrants. Many of them would like 
to improve the quality of education in Uzbekistan, to 
ensure that their co-citizens can become more com-
petitive in the international arena. One female re-
spondent suggested she “would (happily) develop ed-
ucational programs in science and academia, develop 
science in universities, launch exchange programs and 
contribute to professional development.”
Other respondents mentioned the possibilities 
of creating community-based businesses or encour-
aging social entrepreneurship. One female partici-
pant stressed: “I wanted something that is community 
based, something that can move people somewhere. 
And I, for example, have an idea to open something 
that can bring together several entrepreneurs that 
would also link farmers to market, have some socie-
tal impact...a social entrepreneurship, something that 
can sustain itself economically, but also have a social 
impact.” Other sectors in which highly qualified emi-
grants want to invest are real estate, healthcare, R&D 
and renewable energy.
There are certain doubts about the current in-
vestment climate in Uzbekistan, which make highly 
skilled emigrants wary of investing or launching a 
business in their home country. To quote one female 
respondent: ”... too many barriers... All emigrants are 
homesick and they would invest with pleasure con-
sidering that many of them still have relatives there. 
Uzbeks like to help...but it is difficult to have business 
there.”
Another area of uncertainty concerns the desire 
and demand coming from Uzbekistan. Although 
many respondents believe that Uzbek emigrants 
would like to invest into Uzbekistan, they doubt that 
such investments will be welcomed. One female re-
spondent questioned the current situation: “You can’t 
impose help. You help when people need it, when you 
see an aspiration...I would help. Why not? I know many 
people would and I would encourage it. There should 
be the need and demand from Uzbekistan, though.” 
Thus, it seems that highly qualified emigrants are 
more likely to make nonmonetary contributions 
rather than direct financial investments in the cur-
rent environment.
Return Migration
The literature suggests that because of the restric-
tive immigration policies of developed countries 
and other factors such as family, social relationships 
and emotional ties, the emigration of highly skilled 
labor is often temporary.
38
 Hence, human capital ac-
quired abroad is readily transferred to the country 
of origin through return or circular migration, also 
known as “brain circulation.”
39
 Some of the brightest 
professionals are willing to move back after success-
ful careers and education abroad in order to launch 
businesses and boost local economies.
40
 In develop-
ing countries, return migration can also lead to the 
formation of elites.
41
 
Many respondents who have taken part in the 
present study continue to display very strong emo-
tional and cultural ties to Uzbekistan, which inform 
their thoughts about moving back permanently to 
their country of origin. For example, as one of the fe-
male respondents observed: “Everyone wants to come 
back to his/her home country. This wish is always pres-
ent.” “You know the thought of no return is very scary 
for me. I haven’t given up on my country and on my-
self, I think I can contribute, I think I should contribute 
and I hope I will have all the courage soon enough to 
go back.”
The question arises, how realistic are those in-
tentions of return? When probed further, it turns out 
that the issue of return to Uzbekistan is conditional 
upon many different factors for both men and wom-
38 Cieslik, “Transnational Mobility and Family-Building Decisions: A Case Study of Skilled Polish Migrant Women in the UK.” 
39 Boeri, Brucker, Docquier, and Rapoport, eds., Brain Drain and Brain Gain. 
40 J. Evans, “Watch out for the reverse brain drain,” Euromoney, April 2014, http://www.euromoney.com/Article/1001871/Watch-out-for-the-reverse-
brain-drain.html?copyrightInfo=true.
41 Boeri, Brucker, Docquier, and Rapoport, eds., Brain Drain and Brain Gain.

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Emigration of “Crème de la Crème “ in Uzbekistan. A Gender Perspective
59
en. Employment perspectives are one of the most 
important conditions of moving back to Uzbekistan. 
A male respondent explains: “I simply need employ-
ment... Why I am here? Because I have a place, a 
job, and that’s why I’m paying their tax and contrib-
ute to their science. If I had the same opportunity in 
Uzbekistan, I would go just like that and live near my 
family. It would save me so much money,  because I 
won’t have to travel each time to see them. It will save 
me nerves. There is a huge assumption that people 
abroad are enjoying themselves. Probably they are. 
However, it’s still has its own minuses. If I had a job in 
Uzbekistan, I would go back.” Similarly, another wom-
an respondent argues: “I always tell if they [Uzbek em-
ployers] call, I’ll come. As soon as our country needs 
‘cadre’, they will find a way to find me, to make a job 
offer and I go immediately as soon as it happens. If I 
am offered a job and they invite, I’ll come back.”
Some of the respondents also talked about the 
difficulties of reintegration into academia after stud-
ies abroad and in particular about the need to val-
idate foreign degrees. For some of the respondents, 
the process of foreign degree validation took a long 
time and turned out to be complicated and diffi-
cult. “There was a need for degree validation, which 
was very difficult. Career progression was not possible 
without it. My foreign PhD degree was not automat-
ically valid in Uzbekistan in order for me to work in 
academia.”
When asked further if the respondents believed 
their knowledge, skills and expertise could be val-
ued by potential employers in Uzbekistan upon 
their return, they expressed some doubts. To quote 
one female respondent: “I doubt that my skills will be 
valued by local employers. They always tell ‘you have 
spent so much time abroad; you do not have any idea 
of what is happening in Uzbekistan and the peculiar-
ities of the local market. You do not know our reality.” 
Respondents who are deeply involved into scientif-
ic fields and research and development express even 
more hesitation: “My skills will be demanded; some