Institutional Reform in Kazakhstan

Abstract

This chapter offers a summary of a series of reforms that have been adopted to liberalize the economy of Kazakhstan, a post-Soviet country, since its independence in 1991. Being resource-rich, the new country has built its economy around the oil and gas (O&G) industry that had been increasingly dominating its economy and has become an O&G export-oriented country. Focusing on different aspects of institutional development, the chapter raises the question of how the economy of Kazakhstan can be diversified to reduce vulnerability to particularly volatile sectors and products such as commodities. The next steps in diversification require improvement of the country’s educational system, with the aim of developing human capital, thus strengthening the accountability of public initiatives by integrating a private investment in them.