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Country
GDP per Capita
in USD (IMF)
Pop. Living
Below
Poverty
Line
Percent
(WB,
2012)
Average Income
Of Labor Mi-
grant (USD) per
Year*
Average Income
of Native Pop-
ulation (USD)
per Year**
Average
Wedding
Costs
(USD)
Average Time
Required to
Save up
(Costs/Income)
Bangladesh
700
31.5
3,120-3,600
9
1000
10
14,290
11
14.2 years
Nepal
623
25.2
3,000-3,360
12
930
21,500
13
23.0 years
Kyrgyzstan
1,070
33.7
5,600-7,560
14
2,088
15
12,250
16
17
5.8 years
Tajikistan
831
46.7
5,600-7,560
18
1,236
19
5,000
20
4.04 years
Uzbekistan
3500
17
5,600-7,560
4,418
10,000
2.26 years
UK
38,591
—
—
33,500
21
33,800
22
1 year
USA
48,386
—
—
42,000
23
27,000
24
0.4 year
Source: Author’s own compilation
Labor Migrant Households in Uzbekistan: Remittances as a Challenge or Blessing
69
ment practices. The Uzbek government tries
to influence the spending pattern on tradi-
tional ceremonies, such as weddings, by lim-
iting the number of people (250 per wedding)
attending the ceremony. However, the initia-
tive is often stuck to weak law enforcement.
Moreover, the government tries to fight con-
sequences rather than causes of the issue.
• Sense of fatalism or satisfaction with the sta-
tus quo. Many Uzbek people believe that they
cannot change the existing pattern, trans-
form their routine and, therefore, continue
following the footsteps of what is said to be
‘the national customs’.
Policy recommendations
Based on the obtained findings the policy recom-
mendations should be distinguished into short-term
and long-term solutions. The short-term solutions
are those solutions that could be arranged rather
quickly without requiring capital-intensive projects.
The long-term solutions require a more systematic
way and more attention from the government.
Short-term recommendations are as follows:
• Banks in Uzbekistan have to create special fi-
nancial packages in rural areas, where most
labor migrants originate from. These packag-
es should be widely available, easy to under-
stand and the deposits should be guaranteed
by the government, which has to be unequiv-
ocally communicated to people.
• The Chamber of Commerce and Industry has
to play a more active role in rural areas by
providing business related information on
opportunities, trainings, etc. The Chamber
will also have to clarify to the people how to
receive a loan, write a basic business plan,
and other basics of business conduct.
• The Uzbek television has to produce and
broadcast programs that will focus on ratio-
nalizing spending patterns and creating busi-
ness opportunities within their communities.
It also has to depict success stories of entre-
preneurs who created employment opportu-
nities within their communities.
The long-term recommendations should embrace
the following initiatives:
• Introduction of basic financial education at
schools. Basic financial education will include
budgeting, planning, and monitoring of ex-
penses. In this regard, a curriculum should
be developed which will match the grade of
the student.
• Strengthening law-enforcement mechanisms.
If there is legislation stipulating the number
of attending guests at a wedding, this has to
be strictly observed without exceptions by
organizations arranging weddings at their
premises. Otherwise, they have to be subject
to fees and penalties. These penalties should
be adequate enough to prevent a payment of
the fee by the wealthier members of commu-
nities.
• Identification of one or two regions for a pi-
lot initiative (for instance Kashkadarya and
Navoi regions) on expanding business op-
portunities and decreasing wedding costs.
Successful results should be extensive-
ly broadcast on major Uzbek channels to
provoke a spillover effect. Certainly, us-
ing the role-model image of one region in
Uzbekistan is not an easy task and may not
yield anticipated results at the expected pace.
However, it may trigger other regions to
learn from success cases and adopt a similar
pattern of behavior within their own com-
munities.
71
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