Why are public offices sold in Kyrgyzstan?

The State as Investment Market: A Framework for Interpreting the Post‐Soviet State in Eurasia

“…By contrast, in the post‐Soviet states office holders can be removed at the vagaries of their superiors. In short, rather than a private property per se, office holding resembles a rather uncertain franchise‐like agreement (see Engvall for a more detailed discussion on the comparison with early modern Europe).…”

“…Would‐be officials buy offices to secure not just a single service or favor, as would be the case with a simple bribe, but to obtain access to a stream of income associated with an office . The collection of these illicit proceeds is continuously shared with superiors, and it is therefore necessary for prospective officials to be able to demonstrate a trustworthy commitment to deliver these proceeds over time (Engvall ). Therefore, this market is rife with informal connections, which may be based on kinship relations, friendship, or professional and educational connections.…”

Informal payments and connections in post-Soviet Kazakhstan

“…Although the 'price' for a post is often much higher than the official monthly salary, people are ready to pay it because the informal income one can generate by holding a public office over a certain period pays off the initial expense of buying it. In other words, such incomes and other rents associated with a post are collected as returns from an 'investment' in public office (Engvall 2014(Engvall , 2015. It is within this system of public posts for sale that exploitive activities of officials occur (Humphery and Sneath 2004;Rasanayagam 2011).…”

Global money laundering and its domestic political consequences in Kyrgyzstan

“…Togonbayev, Nadel, and Gourevich were not citizens of Kyrgyzstan and did not comply with Kyrgyz laws on economic activity, but their access to global markets turned them into major economic players in the Kyrgyz economy. For them, state institutions were a lucrative marketplace that they preferred to keep in the shadows (Engvall 2014).…”