Prostranstvennaâ Èkonomika (Oct 2020)
Transformation of Socio-Cultural Factors Impacting on the External Labour Migration in Uzbekistan
Abstract
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan external labor migrants’ share corresponds to approximately 22% of the country’s entire labor force. In 1991–2019 Uzbekistan economy went through four stages each determined by certain demographic, economic, political and other factors impacting on the formation of external labour migration at the macro-level. These stages reflect the following: a) transition from a centrally planned to a market economy against the background of higher migration outflows for permanent residence abroad in 1990–2000, b) acceleration of economic growth in 2000–2009 and subsequent formation of migrant networks abroad, c) a period of GDP growth slowdown in the absence of structural reforms to promote employment and investment in 2010–2015 that contributed to increasing labor migration, and d) the stage of new socio-economic reforms and closer attention of the Uzbekistan authorities to migration processes. The study takes into account this macroeconomic environment, but the focus is shifting to the causes for a change in migration processes from the standpoint of poorly described socio-cultural factors that affect external labor migration and reintegration of returning economic migrants in Uzbekistan. The research is based on the reports on external labor migration and employment of the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the publications of international organizations as well as in-depth interviews with migrants and members of their families. The study reveals that the change in the socio-cultural context in 2006–2019 contributed to the expansion of geography of migration from Uzbekistan, the emergence of migration feminization and rejuvenation phenomena amid the elements of egalitarianism in the initially patriarchal society and also it assessed the migration success in terms of re-migration and the ability of migrants to reintegrate into community upon returning home. It is shown that stimulating as well as contraining of migration processes in Uzbekistan are based on micro-sociums specifics
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