In January 2019, Uzbekistan started a new farm restructuring1. It is said to seek to optimize the use of farmland by increasing the size of farms producing wheat and cotton, reallocating land to more efficient farmers and even clusters, and improving crop rotation options.
... See More + This is not the first time that this kind of farm restructuring in Uzbekistan takes place. The country has gone through several waves of farm restructuring and land reallocations. Both these processes were administratively managed, with little reference to market or income generation opportunities. During 1992-1997, state farms were decollectivized. During 1998-2002, farm fragmentation into small production units has started, which was completed during 2003-2008. Unsatisfied with the performance of fragmented farms, the government started farm consolidation between 2008/2009 and 2016, creating a dual system when dekhkan smallholders averaging 1 hectare (ha) and producing livestock and horticulture products coexisted with large individual farms, averaging 40-60 ha and producing cotton and wheat under the state order system. The 2019 restructuring seeks to double the size of cotton and wheat farms to the average of 100 ha.
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In January 2019, Uzbekistan started a new farm restructuring1. It is said to seek to optimize the use of farmland by increasing the size of farms producing wheat and cotton, reallocating land to more efficient farmers and even clusters, and improving crop rotation options.
... See More + This is not the first time that this kind of farm restructuring in Uzbekistan takes place. The country has gone through several waves of farm restructuring and land reallocations. Both these processes were administratively managed, with little reference to market or income generation opportunities. During 1992-1997, state farms were decollectivized. During 1998-2002, farm fragmentation into small production units has started, which was completed during 2003-2008. Unsatisfied with the performance of fragmented farms, the government started farm consolidation between 2008/2009 and 2016, creating a dual system when dekhkan smallholders averaging 1 hectare (ha) and producing livestock and horticulture products coexisted with large individual farms, averaging 40-60 ha and producing cotton and wheat under the state order system. The 2019 restructuring seeks to double the size of cotton and wheat farms to the average of 100 ha.
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Sixteenth in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2019 covers 11 areas of business regulation.
... See More + Ten of these areas - starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency - are included in the ease of doing business score and ease of doing business ranking. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation, which is not included in these two measures. Doing Business provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level. This economy profile presents indicators for Uzbekistan; for 2019 Uzbekistan ranks 76.
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Uzbekistan is a landlocked, Central Asian country that shares borders with Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. In 2004–2016, Uzbekistan’s economic growth was rapid and lifted significant parts of the population out of poverty.
... See More + The development of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) was the main driver of the job growth, contributing to increased incomes and poverty reduction. Increased exports of copper, gas and gold aided by high commodity prices, generated state budget revenues that financed large increases in investment and salaries to bolster domestic consumption. However, declining global commodity prices in 2013–2016 and the weak economic performance of China and Russia adversely affected Uzbekistan’s exports, as well as state budget revenues and household incomes. Agriculture plays an important role in Uzbekistan’s economy. In 2017, 49 percent of the population, around 16 million people, resided in rural areas and most are employed in agriculture. Agriculture accounts for about 17 percent of Uzbekistan’s GDP and over 30 percent of employment in the country. Agricultural development is, therefore, crucial for ensuring rural livelihoods, jobs, and food security. This report provides an overview of the agricultural trade and trade policies in Uzbekistan with the goal of identifying key areas for further agricultural trade policy reforms. It also identifies several key products and prospective markets for export and assesses their market access potential and requirements.
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Uzbekistan is a landlocked, Central Asian country that shares borders with Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. In 2004–2016, Uzbekistan’s economic growth was rapid and lifted significant parts of the population out of poverty.
... See More + The development of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) was the main driver of the job growth, contributing to increased incomes and poverty reduction. Increased exports of copper, gas and gold aided by high commodity prices, generated state budget revenues that financed large increases in investment and salaries to bolster domestic consumption. However, declining global commodity prices in 2013–2016 and the weak economic performance of China and Russia adversely affected Uzbekistan’s exports, as well as state budget revenues and household incomes. Agriculture plays an important role in Uzbekistan’s economy. In 2017, 49 percent of the population, around 16 million people, resided in rural areas and most are employed in agriculture. Agriculture accounts for about 17 percent of Uzbekistan’s GDP and over 30 percent of employment in the country. Agricultural development is, therefore, crucial for ensuring rural livelihoods, jobs, and food security. This report provides an overview of the agricultural trade and trade policies in Uzbekistan with the goal of identifying key areas for further agricultural trade policy reforms. It also identifies several key products and prospective markets for export and assesses their market access potential and requirements.
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Doing Business 2018 is the 15th in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it.
... See More + This economy profile presents the Doing Business indicators for Uzbekistan. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulation and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 190 economies; for 2018 Uzbekistan ranks 74. Doing Business measures aspects of regulation affecting 11 areas of the life of a business. Ten of these areas are included in this year's ranking on the ease of doing business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation, which is not included in this year's ranking. Data in Doing Business 2018 are current as of June 1, 2017. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms of business regulation have worked, where, and why.
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Uzbekistan is a lower middle-income country located in Central Asia with a population of 30 million people and an economy that has been growing by over 8 percent per annum since the mid-2000s.
... See More + The composition of the workforce has also changed dramatically in recent years. The higher education system is characterized by low access and concerns about the quality and relevance of the skills of its graduates. A recent regional skills study concluded that Uzbekistan is experiencing a substantial shortage of university graduates. The internal management of the higher education system is fragmented, with different actors having overlapping responsibilities, thereby making it difficult to ensure system-wide accountability. In order to enable the Uzbek higher education system to serve the economy and student population well, the quality assurance system should be compliant with global best practices while remaining locally relevant. While reported overall state budget spending on education, at around 8 percent of GDP, is one of the highest in the world, the share of this spending on tertiary education, at around 0.4 percent of GDP, is one the lowest. In summary, Uzbekistan’s higher education system needs to modernize to better adapt to needs of the country’s economy. The report, having analyzed the sector in detail, proposes measures to modernize the higher education sector in Uzbekistan.
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Due to the strong economic growth maintained in the last 15 years, Uzbekistan made progress in reducing gender inequality. At the same time, several demographic and structural challenges remain; and effectively engaging women in the economy is one of them.
... See More + While modernizing various sectors of the economy will foster progress and development, it may also result in setbacks for women, as they lack the skills and education needed to successfully adjust to a changing reality. While women constitute around 50 percent of the national population, their participation in the formal labor market is limited. Active women’s participation offers a reserved potential for further national economic growth and improved livelihoods for women in Uzbekistan. The link between women’s productive participation in the country’s economy and improved economic indicators is well documented across the world. Hence, to maintain strong economic growth, it is in Uzbekistan’s national interest to improve women’s participation in the formal economy. Not only can significant economic benefits be realized by mobilizing such latent productive potential, but it can be achieved in parallel with improving women’s capacity to make decisions about their own lives and act on them. The objective of this study is to examine how gender influences opportunities and risks in accessing livelihoods in Uzbekistan. It seeks to identify the constraints to, and opportunities for, increased socioeconomic resilience among rural women in Uzbekistan, and it has the potential to inform livelihoods programming. The study focuses on women in rural areas, as they represent a large portion of productive members of Uzbek society who are insufficiently integrated into the formal labor market. The study adopts a capability approach6 to understand the distinct aspirations, opportunities, and barriers for rural women in income-generating activities. It focuses on supply-side challenges faced by women and enablers of women’s work (e.g., low labor demand and lack of formal employment opportunities). The study is centered on the premise that a gender-inclusive approach should be an integral goal of livelihood support in Uzbekistan.
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Due to the strong economic growth maintained in the last 15 years, Uzbekistan made progress in reducing gender inequality. At the same time, several demographic and structural challenges remain; and effectively engaging women in the economy is one of them.
... See More + While modernizing various sectors of the economy will foster progress and development, it may also result in setbacks for women, as they lack the skills and education needed to successfully adjust to a changing reality. While women constitute around 50 percent of the national population, their participation in the formal labor market is limited. Active women’s participation offers a reserved potential for further national economic growth and improved livelihoods for women in Uzbekistan. The link between women’s productive participation in the country’s economy and improved economic indicators is well documented across the world. Hence, to maintain strong economic growth, it is in Uzbekistan’s national interest to improve women’s participation in the formal economy. Not only can significant economic benefits be realized by mobilizing such latent productive potential, but it can be achieved in parallel with improving women’s capacity to make decisions about their own lives and act on them. The objective of this study is to examine how gender influences opportunities and risks in accessing livelihoods in Uzbekistan. It seeks to identify the constraints to, and opportunities for, increased socioeconomic resilience among rural women in Uzbekistan, and it has the potential to inform livelihoods programming. The study focuses on women in rural areas, as they represent a large portion of productive members of Uzbek society who are insufficiently integrated into the formal labor market. The study adopts a capability approach6 to understand the distinct aspirations, opportunities, and barriers for rural women in income-generating activities. It focuses on supply-side challenges faced by women and enablers of women’s work (e.g., low labor demand and lack of formal employment opportunities). The study is centered on the premise that a gender-inclusive approach should be an integral goal of livelihood support in Uzbekistan.
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This economy profile presents the Doing Business indicators for Uzbekistan. To allow useful comparison, it also provides data for other selected economies (comparator economies) for each indicator.
... See More + Doing Business 2017 is the 14th in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business; for 2016 Uzbekistan ranks 87. Doing Business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting 11 areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and labor market regulation. Doing Business 2017 presents the data for the labor market regulation indicators in an annex. The report does not present rankings of economies on labor market regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate distance to frontier score or ranking on the ease of doing business. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why. The data in this report are current as of June 1, 2016 (except for the paying taxes indicators, which cover the period January–December 2015).
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Agriculture in Uzbekistan is almost entirely dependent on irrigation. However, despite reforms to institutional arrangements, much of Uzbekistan’s irrigation is reportedly caught in a vicious cycle of inadequate operation and maintenance, low cost recovery, and agricultural productivity that is often moderate or low; in addition, many farmers earn low incomes (World Bank, 2013).Few incentives exist to save water because farmers do not see the direct cost of water provision.This study was undertaken with the aim of contributing to better irrigation water management in Central Asia, beginning in Uzbekistan.
... See More + It identifies factors and conditions that positively affect the performance of local irrigation water management institutions. The analytical framework for this assessment is formed by the eight design principles for the management of common-pool resources developed by Ostrom (1990). These design principles are in essence factors that are associated with successful collective action in governing common-pool resources such as irrigation water, forests, and fishing areas. By determining why these principles are met in some cases and not in others, and what factors are behind this variation, the author can identify measures that promote these factors/conditions in irrigation schemes. This study was undertaken with the aim of contributing to better irrigation water management in Central Asia, beginning in Uzbekistan. It identifies factors and conditions that positively affect the performance of local irrigation water–management institutions. The study also prepared an associated diagnostic tool that will help design measures and program interventions to strengthen these institutions in ongoing or future irrigation operations. Lastly, the work intends to contribute to an exchange of good practices and knowledge sharing among relevant stakeholders across the Central Asia region.
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This study was undertaken by the World Bank to inform the potential areas and means ofassistance to the Government of Uzbekistan in scaling up energy efficiency (EE) investmentsin residential, commercial, and public buildings, focusing on energy use and efficiency inspace heating.
... See More + Considering the ongoing World Bank assistance in modernizing districtheating services in selected cities in Uzbekistan, this study is explicitly concerned withresidential, commercial, and public buildings that are not served by district heating. The main objective of the study was to identify scalable EE interventions that could be deployed in the next 3 to 5 years. Three specific areas were investigated: (a) a market assessment for upgrading space heating and water heating equipment in detached homes and commercial buildings; (b) an analysis of the issues and options for scaling up investmentin thermal retro fit of public buildings; and (c) a gap analysis on the compliance enforcementof building EE standards in newly constructed housing. The study did not look into thermalretrofit of existing residential buildings, which holds significant energy-saving potential, butalso is among the most complex and challenging of EE interventions. A separate in-depthanalysis would be required to adequately address the issues involved. The three areas of investigation are broadly consistent with the priorities for improving EE in buildings stated in Presidential Decree No. PP-2343: Program of Measures to Increase Energy Efficiency and Introduce Energy-Saving Technologies in the Sectors of Economy andSocial Sphere during 2015–2019. In particular, the presidential decree singled out actions in (a) replacement of nonstandard and inefficient boilers for space-heating and hot watersupply in detached houses; (b) channeling of energy cost savings in state budget-funded organizations toward funding EE investments in these entities; and (c) improvement of rulesand norms for EE requirements for new buildings. The findings and recommendations of the study, summarized below, are intended to inform discussions between the Government and the World Bank on the issues and options to address the main constraints to implementing the priority actions identified in thePresidential Decree No. PP-2343. Detailed courses of action on specific EE interventions inbuildings could then be developed based on the outcomes of these discussions.
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This study was undertaken by the World Bank to inform the potential areas and means ofassistance to the Government of Uzbekistan in scaling up energy efficiency (EE) investmentsin residential, commercial, and public buildings, focusing on energy use and efficiency inspace heating.
... See More + Considering the ongoing World Bank assistance in modernizing districtheating services in selected cities in Uzbekistan, this study is explicitly concerned withresidential, commercial, and public buildings that are not served by district heating. The main objective of the study was to identify scalable EE interventions that could be deployed in the next 3 to 5 years. Three specific areas were investigated: (a) a market assessment for upgrading space heating and water heating equipment in detached homes and commercial buildings; (b) an analysis of the issues and options for scaling up investmentin thermal retro fit of public buildings; and (c) a gap analysis on the compliance enforcementof building EE standards in newly constructed housing. The study did not look into thermalretrofit of existing residential buildings, which holds significant energy-saving potential, butalso is among the most complex and challenging of EE interventions. A separate in-depthanalysis would be required to adequately address the issues involved. The three areas of investigation are broadly consistent with the priorities for improving EE in buildings stated in Presidential Decree No. PP-2343: Program of Measures to Increase Energy Efficiency and Introduce Energy-Saving Technologies in the Sectors of Economy andSocial Sphere during 2015–2019. In particular, the presidential decree singled out actions in (a) replacement of nonstandard and inefficient boilers for space-heating and hot watersupply in detached houses; (b) channeling of energy cost savings in state budget-funded organizations toward funding EE investments in these entities; and (c) improvement of rulesand norms for EE requirements for new buildings. The findings and recommendations of the study, summarized below, are intended to inform discussions between the Government and the World Bank on the issues and options to address the main constraints to implementing the priority actions identified in thePresidential Decree No. PP-2343. Detailed courses of action on specific EE interventions inbuildings could then be developed based on the outcomes of these discussions.
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Agriculture in Uzbekistan is almost entirely dependent on irrigation. However, despite reforms to institutional arrangements, much of Uzbekistan’s irrigation is reportedly caught in a vicious cycle of inadequate operation and maintenance, low cost recovery, and agricultural productivity that is often moderate or low; in addition, many farmers earn low incomes (World Bank, 2013).Few incentives exist to save water because farmers do not see the direct cost of water provision.This study was undertaken with the aim of contributing to better irrigation water management in Central Asia, beginning in Uzbekistan.
... See More + It identifies factors and conditions that positively affect the performance of local irrigation water management institutions. The analytical framework for this assessment is formed by the eight design principles for the management of common-pool resources developed by Ostrom (1990). These design principles are in essence factors that are associated with successful collective action in governing common-pool resources such as irrigation water, forests, and fishing areas. By determining why these principles are met in some cases and not in others, and what factors are behind this variation, the author can identify measures that promote these factors/conditions in irrigation schemes. This study was undertaken with the aim of contributing to better irrigation water management in Central Asia, beginning in Uzbekistan. It identifies factors and conditions that positively affect the performance of local irrigation water–management institutions. The study also prepared an associated diagnostic tool that will help design measures and program interventions to strengthen these institutions in ongoing or future irrigation operations. Lastly, the work intends to contribute to an exchange of good practices and knowledge sharing among relevant stakeholders across the Central Asia region.
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The Government of Uzbekistan (GoU) has recently adopted a policy to mechanize the cotton harvest as part of its drive to modernize the agricultural sector.
... See More + Under Uzbekistan’s state-order system it is compulsory for many farmers to grow cotton. They are contractually obligated to produce stipulated quantities that are annually set by the government, and must sell these to the GoU at a price fixed by the government. Almost all cotton in Uzbekistan is harvested by hand, even though mechanization existed during the Soviet period. An estimated 2.2–3 millio
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The Country Opinion Survey in Uzbekistan assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Uzbekistan perceive the WBG.
... See More + It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Uzbekistan on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Uzbekistan; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Uzbekistan; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Uzbekistan; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Uzbekistan.
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The Government of Uzbekistan (GoU) has recently adopted a policy to mechanize the cotton harvest as part of its drive to modernize the agricultural sector.
... See More + Under Uzbekistan’s state-order system it is compulsory for many farmers to grow cotton. They are contractually obligated to produce stipulated quantities that are annually set by the government, and must sell these to the GoU at a price fixed by the government. Almost all cotton in Uzbekistan is harvested by hand, even though mechanization existed during the Soviet period. An estimated 2.2–3 millio
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This economy profile for Doing Business 2016 presents the 11 Doing Business indicators for Uzbekistan. To allow for useful comparison, the profile also provides data for other selected economies (comparator economies) for each indicator.
... See More + Doing Business 2016 is the 13th edition in a series of annual reports measuring the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business; for 2015 Uzbekistan ranks 87. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 189 economies from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and over time. Doing Business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting 11 areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and labor market regulation. The data in this report are current as of June 1, 2015 (except for the paying taxes indicators, which cover the period from January to December 2014).
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This Country Data Report summarizes the data from the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) project for Uzbekistan. The WGI report six aggregate governance indicators for over 200 countries and territories over the period 1996-2014, covering: i) voice and accountability, ii) political stability and absence of violence, terrorism, iii) government effectiveness, iv) regulatory quality, v) rule of law, and vi) control of corruption.
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Reliable evidence on the quality of current WSS service conditions is scarce and consumer experience and views and voices are not systematically collected and used for policy development.
... See More + International experience suggests that poor drinking water and sanitation services can cause households to incur high costs for dealing with this situation. However, in Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries, there is a lack of data on service quality and on such coping costs. Together with limited feedback from consumers to those that design WSS policies and programs this makes it difficult to design effective reform measures and assess their ex-ante impact on households, in particular for those at the bottom of the income distribution. This study assesses consumer experiences with current WSS services across a range of selected sites in Uzbekistan and determines consumer readiness for reform. First of all, the study analyses how surveyed consumers currently meet their drinking water and sanitation needs and what proportion of their household budget is spent on meeting their WSS needs. Second it assesses the interaction between consumers and service providers. Third it examines stakeholder views and positions on service modernization needs and assesses consumer willingness to pay for quality networked WSS services. Comparisons are made across consumers in a selection of cities, small towns and rural areas, between consumers that are connected to a networked service and those that are not, and between households in the bottom 40 percent and top 60 percent of the income distribution (as estimated through a wealth index).
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