Labor Migration From Uzbekistan: a Family and Community Promoted Big Bang

Abstract

From 1991 to 2019, the economy of Uzbekistan passed through the four stages. Each stage was characterized by certain demographic, economic, political, and other factors. These factors influence the formation of foreign labor migration at the macrolevel. The mentioned stages reflect (i) the transition from a planned to a market economy against the background of an increase in migration outflow for permanent residence in 1990-2000, (ii) acceleration of economic growth in 2000-2009 and the formation of "migrant networks" abroad, (iii) a period of slowdown in GDP growth in the absence of structural reforms to stimulate employment and investment in 2010-2015, which contributed to the active growth of labor migration, and (iv) a stage of new socioeconomic reforms and increased attention of the leadership of Uzbekistan to migration processes. This study takes into account these macroeconomic conditions, but focus is shifted to the reasons for the change in migration processes in terms of poorly understood sociocultural factors that affect foreign labor migration and reintegration of labor migrants in Uzbekistan. The article is based on reports from specialized studies of foreign labor migration and employment conducted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations of Uzbekistan, publications of studies by international organizations, and data from indepth interviews with migrants and their families. The research revealed that under the influence of macroeconomic conditions, the change in the sociocultural context in 2006-2019 contributed to expansion of the geography of migration flows from Uzbekistan, the emergence of such phenomena as the "feminization" of migration and its "rejuvenation" against the background of certain elements of egalitarianism in an initially patriarchal society. Studying the sociocultural context made it possible to assess the degree of "success" of migration, in terms of remigration and the ability of migrants to reintegrate into society upon returning home. It has been determined that the microcommunity in Uzbekistan, as a donor country of labor resources, has both stimulating and constraining effects on the transformation of migration processes.

Migration Destinations Beyond Russia: Central Asia’s Road to Economic Security and Diplomatic Autonomy

“…For Uzbeks, Turkey gives three times more wages than Uzbekistan. In 2018, 7.8% of Uzbekistan's total labour migrants were working in Turkey, a notable increase from less than 2% in 2012 (Bondarenko, 2021).…”

Why Restrict Emigration: Autocrats’ Economic Ideas in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan

“…The existing literature on Eurasian migration reveals a similar lacuna. Kluczewska and Korneev (2022, 2) point out that discussions on emigration governance and state behavior in Eurasia are virtually absent, in contrast to the scholarship on diaspora policy (King and Melvin 1999;Ferrando 2009), migration and policy trends (Schmidt and Sagynbekova 2008;Marat 2009;Kim 2012;Dadabaev and Soipov 2022;Sibagatulina 2021;FIDH 2016;Sippola 2014;Mamatkhanov 2020;Erdoğan 2021), and the causes and consequences of migration (Abazov 1999;Radnitz 2006;Seitz 2019;Kakhkharov et al 2021;Ahunov et al 2015;Bondarenko 2021;Turaeva 2016;Ilkhamov 2013;Ruget and Usmanalieva 2008). A few studies have explored emigration policies (Ryazantsev 2013;UNDP 2015;Riazantsev 2016;d'Appollonia and Kasymova 2015;Bahovadinova 2016), yet less attention has been paid to the determinants of emigration policies.…”

Feminization, rural transformation, and wheat systems in post-soviet Uzbekistan

“…According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) (2014) , Uzbekistan is the topmost sending country in central Asia as migrants leave to the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan where they share language and family connections and benefit from central Asia's liberal visa requirements (IOM, 2006). Seven percent of the economically active population in Uzbekistan is involved in internal or external migration, 60–90 percent of whom are male ( Al, 2014 ) even as female migration in response to limited work opportunities has also increased ( FAO 2019 ; Bondarenko 2021 ). These work opportunities were in the domain of agriculture for women and construction for men.…”