Uzbekistan Quality Job Creation as a Cornerstone for Sustainable Economic Growth

participation in regional and global trade and improve the business climate 
to attract more foreign direct investment inflows and facilitate job creation. 
The third priority for government action relates to addressing the longer-term 
constraints associated with the economy’s infrastructure stock and level of 
human capital. A comprehensive infrastructure program focusing on transport 
and energy would facilitate the country’s access to global markets while 
concomitantly supporting output and employment growth. Finally, education 
and skills improvements aimed at fully responding to job market needs are 
required to meet the challenges of a modern diversified economy. 
We at the Asian Development Bank hope that the findings in this book will 
assist the Government of Uzbekistan in its quest to seek sustainable growth, 
and highly appreciate the government’s support and cooperation throughout 
the study. We look forward to continuing productive dialogue and engagement 
with the government and are fully committed to support Uzbekistan in 
achieving its developmental goals.
Yasuyuki Sawada
Chief Economist and Director General
Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department
Asian Development Bank
Preface

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Acknowledgments
The Uzbekistan Country Diagnostic Study was prepared by the Asian 
Development Bank (ADB) under a regional technical assistance project (TA 
8343-REG), Country Diagnostic Studies in Selected Developing Member 
Countries. The study aims to contribute to the analysis of ongoing economic 
reforms taken by the Uzbekistan government. The study focuses on how 
reforms can help to create more good-quality jobs and attempts to look 
deeper into underlying causes for jobless growth. The study provides concrete 
and evidence-based policy suggestions that may provide insights to support 
government planning in the future years.
The study was undertaken by the Economic Research and Regional 
Cooperation Department (ERCD), under the overall guidance and supervision 
of Edimon Ginting, deputy director general, ERCD and former director of 
the Economic Analysis and Operational Support Division (EREA), ERCD. 
During the CDS’ final stretch, the study benefited from the advice of Rana 
Hasan, director, EREA, ERCD. The study was initially led by Kee-Yung Nam, 
principal energy economist, Sustainable Development and Climate Change 
Department, and was completed by Kiyoshi Taniguchi, principal economist, 
Pakistan Resident Mission, Central and West Asia Department (CWRD). 
Each chapter was prepared by a team: Chapter 1 (macroeconomic overview) 
by Marcel Schroder, Kym Anderson, Edimon Ginting, and Kiyoshi Taniguchi; 
Chapter 2 (infrastructure) by Kee-Yung Nam, Lotis C. Quiao, Jasmin Sibal, 
Denise Encarnacion, and Bahtiyor Eshchanov; Chapter 3 (human capital 
development) by Malika Shagazatova, Kiyoshi Taniguchi, Jasmin Sibal, and 
Bakhrom Mirkasimov; Chapter 4 (private sector development and access to 
finance) by Shigehiro Shinozaki; and Chapter 5 (regional cooperation and 
foreign direct investment) by Jozef Konings and Aigerim Yergabulova.

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Overall technical review and economic editing was provided by Kym Anderson, 
to ensure coherence and quality of the chapter studies, with support from 
Jill Gale de Villa as copy editor and Tuesday Soriano as proofreader. Overall 
research and technical support was provided by Maria Rowena Cham and 
Jasmin Sibal, while Amanda Isabel Mamon supported project administration. 
Research assistance was provided by Denise Encarnacion, Amador Foronda, 
Reneli Gloria, and Daryll Naval. Mike Cortes did the graphic design, layout,
and typesetting.
The study is a product of extensive consultations with key government 
ministries in Uzbekistan, its think-tank agencies, and research institutions 
supporting development and strategy planning. The study team expresses 
special gratitude to the Institute of Macroeconomic Research and Forecasting, 
Ministry of Economy, Institute for Fiscal Studies, Ministry of Finance, Central 
Bank of Uzbekistan, Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade, Ministry 
of Labor, and Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education. 
Other stakeholders who contributed to the study include Uzbekenergo, 
the State Committee on Automobile Roads, and O’zbekiston Temir Yo’llari; 
development partners, cooperatives, state enterprises, and the private sector 
have also been instrumental in the study.
We thank our university partners from the Tashkent State University 
of Economics, Westminster International University in Tashkent, and 
Management Development Institute of Singapore in Tashkent for hosting 
the study’s workshops, seminars, and consultations. We also thank seminar