Kyrgyzstan

Social protection is at the heart of Kyrgyzstan’s development and is a priority of public policy. Pension coverage among today’s elderly is universal and a large number of contributory and non-contributory programmes are in place to cover a wide range of risks. Kyrgyzstan has succeeded in maintaining the entitlements dating from the Soviet era while introducing programmes appropriate for its transition to a market economy. However, severe fiscal constraints have limited the coverage of these new arrangements and their capacity to adapt to challenges such as poverty, pervasive informality and emigration.

The recent effects of immigration on the Kyrgyz economy appear to be limited. Many immigrants have been in the country for several decades, hence are overrepresented among the older cohorts, resulting in a lower labour force participation rate than among the native-born. Still, the estimated share of value added generated by immigrants exceeds their share of the labour force but also of the population. Overall, immigration is not associated with a deteriorating labour force situation for the native-born population. In contrast, the current contribution of immigrants to public finance appears to be negative. The high concentration among retirement-age individuals is a major reason for this outcome as the estimate disregards their prior contributions to public revenues. Kyrgyzstan's economy would benefit from changes in certain migration and non-migration sectoral policies. How Immigrants Contribute to Kyrgyzstan’s Economy is the result of a project carried out by the OECD Development Centre and the International Labour Organization, with support from the European Union. The project aimed to analyse several economic impacts – on the labour market, economic growth, and public finance – of immigration in ten partner countries: Argentina, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Rwanda, South Africa and Thailand. The empirical evidence stems from a combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses of secondary and in some cases primary data sources.

This report presents recommendations on the reform of economic instruments for water resources management in Kyrgyzstan, specifically on tariffs for urban water supply and sanitation (WSS) and irrigation water, pollution charges, surface water abstraction charges for enterprises (consumptive and non-consumptive uses), specific land tax rates for the Issyk-Kul biosphere reserve, as well as taxes and customs duty on products contributing to water pollution. For each instrument, alternative reform options are identified and assessed, and preferred options put forward, with an action plan.

Conveniently located near the world’s fastest growing energy markets, the resource-rich and transit countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia contribute significantly to world energy security. However, shared challenges across the region include aged infrastructure, high energy intensity, low energy efficiency, untapped alternative energy potential and poorly functioning regional energy markets. This publication highlights the energy policies and sector developments of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan during 2013-14 and provides a summary of key recommendations for policy makers in the region. Energy policy analysis is conducted in line with the INOGATE Programme’s four main pillars of energy development: energy market convergence, energy security, sustainable development and investment attraction. Started in 1996, the INOGATE Programme is one of the longest running energy technical assistance programmes funded by the European Union and works within the policy frameworks of the Baku Initiative and the Eastern Partnership. The INOGATE Programme co-operates with 11 Partner Countries to support reduction in their dependency on fossil fuels and imports, to improve the security of their energy supply and to mitigate overall climate change. It also supports the Eastern Partnership, a joint initiative between the European Union, EU Member States, and the Eastern European and Caucasus countries. Launched in 2009, the Eastern Partnership aims at advancing political association and economic integration. This publication has been produced with European Union financial assistance provided through the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument.