This course aims to introduce students to economic factors leading to the fall of the Russian Empire and the Khanates in Central Asia, the rise of the USSR, followed by the collapse of the USSR and its aftermath. Particular attention is paid to Soviet economic models and Soviet planning, the famine of the 1930s, industrialization, collectivization and urbanization, the impact of the World War II, and declining productivity growth in the 1980s. The course then explores the economic consequences of the USSR’s collapse as well as the market transition and informal institutions in the countries of Central Asia that followed.
In the last part of the course, the main focus will be devoted to the recent reform experience of New Uzbekistan, mostly reflected in the chapters of the edited volume “New Uzbekistan: The Third Renaissance”. Students will also be introduced to all publicly available macro- and micro-level datasets in Central Asia and will be encouraged to explore those household surveys, Census and administrative data, and other data sources.