Uzbekistan new indd

parts of my expertise, but not the scientific side. There 
are very few people who understand it. Employers will 
underestimate my skills...My scientific skills will not be 
valued in Uzbekistan, they will not be understood.”
The above analysis shows that the issue is more 
complicated than a mere job offer in Uzbekistan. 
Conventional wisdom suggests that economic and 
financial factors are the main determinants of Uzbek 
emigrants working abroad. Many emigrants, how-
ever, cite the intellectual environment as a primary 
motivator. Highly skilled people are motivated by 
self-esteem and the ability to contribute and work 
in a stimulating environment. One male participant 
of the study explains: “It’s not about the salary and it 
has never been... It’s about environment. Fresh ideas 
should be welcomed. In Uzbekistan sometimes they are 
not. They tell you: ‘your initiative will be punished” or 
“you are too young to make a judgement.” People also 
matter. “Here, although I remain a foreigner, (it is not 
an easy country to live in, there are many disadvantag-
es, it’s completely different culture), I feel valued for my 
ideas and as professional.”
Respondents realize that the same level of sala-
ries cannot be expected in developing countries such 
as Uzbekistan and they are willing to accept that. 
“Now it is very difficult to come back, you can’t work in 
a golden cage, environment is very important. Even if I 
am offered a good salary, there are no smart people to 
discuss my research with.” Such a discouraging work 
environment, especially for scientists, is amplified by 
the fact that more and more highly qualified people 
are leaving Uzbekistan. Respondents also pointed to 
favoritism based on kinship during hiring processes.
While many respondents have a strong desire to 
return and recognize nostalgic feelings and home-
sickness, over time it becomes more difficult to go 
back. Indeed, their children who often are born in 
the new country of residence have little or no attach-
ments to Uzbekistan.
Some women mentioned gender aspects while 
elaborating on a possible return to Uzbekistan: 
“Realistically, nobody needs me there [in Uzbekistan], I 
won’t be feeling myself there. There were times when I was 
dreaming about returning. As a woman I can only real-
ize myself in Uzbekistan through giving birth to children, 
having a family. A single, strong, independent woman 
who is almost 40 years old is not acceptable there.”
Return and circular migration are conditional 
upon many factors and may or may not happen de-
pending on future developments in Uzbekistan.
Occupational Shortages
The literature on “brain drain” argues that sending 
countries lose valuable human capital and experience 
negative effects in terms of economic development.
42
 
42 J. Bhagwati and K. Hamada, “The Brain Drain International Integration of Markets for Professionals and Unemployment: A Theoretical Analysis,” 
Journal of Development Economics 1 (1974): 19–24.

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Marina Kayumova
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Indeed, because of the exodus of talent, highly skilled 
labor becomes scarce,
43
 and a lack of highly skilled 
professionals hinders productivity growth.
44
 
Highly skilled emigration is particularly nega-
tive for sending countries in the short term when it 
involves a large group of people of a specific profes-
sion.
45
 Human capital flight adversely affects sending 
countries when professionals, who are either a key 
input for the human capital sector (e.g. teachers, phy-
sicians) or essential for technology adoption (e.g. en-
gineers, scientists), decide to leave. R&D and innova-
tion are key to productivity growth. Therefore, loos-
ing scientists can be particularly detrimental.
46
 Over 
time “brain drain” may increase the risks of becom-
ing poor, this is particularly true for resource-export-
ing, and developing countries, such as the Central 
Asian states. Brain drain denies them the chance to 
develop competitive skill-intensive industries. In 
addition, relying on the export of natural resources 
and remittances in the absence of highly skilled pro-
fessionals undermines a country’s competitive ad-
vantage. Consequently, there is a significant risk of 
becoming dependent on foreign experts to address 
domestic issues.
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 This risk is aggravated when a state 
is in the process of developing competitive skill-in-
tensive economic sectors and lacks a pool of highly 
educated professionals.
Uzbekistan has already started to experience a 
mismatch between skills on the labor market and oc-
cupational shortages. In 2014, the World Bank com-
missioned a survey of 232 employers in Uzbekistan to 
learn more about the skills deficits in the labor mar-
ket. They found that 35% of all employers, including 
49% of industrial enterprises, had difficulties in hir-
ing sufficient numbers of qualified professionals with 
tertiary degrees, because of the lack of specialists in 
the labor market.
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