Sometimes, winners lose: Economic disparity and indigenization in Kazakhstan

Ira Gang and Achim Schmillen

Journal of Comparative Economics, 2017, vol. 45, issue 3, 605-621

Abstract: Several post-Soviet states have introduced indigenization policies to improve the relative economic, political or social position of formerly disadvantaged populations. Using one example of such policies – “Kazakhization” in Kazakhstan – we investigate their impact on the comparative earnings of two directly affected groups, ethnic Kazakhs and ethnic Russians. Oaxaca decompositions show that Kazakhs are better endowed with income generating characteristics but receive lower returns to these characteristics than Russians. The second effect dominates and Kazakhs have comparatively lower average living standards. While “Kazakhization” may have been successful in some sense it appears to also have induced ethnic Russians to move into jobs that (at least in monetary terms) are superior now to those held by Kazakhs.

Keywords: Ethnicity; Decomposition; Indigenization; Kazakhstan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I32 J15 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Sometimes, Winners Lose: Economic Disparity and Indigenization in Kazakhstan (2014)
Working Paper: Sometimes, Winners Lose: Economic Disparity and Indigenization in Kazakhstan (2014)
Working Paper: Sometimes, Winners Lose: Economic Disparity and Indigenization in Kazakhstan (2014)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:45:y:2017:i:3:p:605-621

DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2016.11.002

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