Introducing myself

Welcome to my blog post about the secondment experience at Lund University in Sweden! My name is Muhammadbobur Abdullaev and I was a guest researcher at Lund University from the Academy of the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan in May – June 2021. In this blog post I would like to, first, share my ideas and opinion on the academic experience at Lund University, next, present my research project as well as provide information about Sweden’s response to global pandemic situation.

Sweden is home to some of the world’s best universities. Several Swedish universities are ranked among world’s top universities by the Times Higher Education and the Academic Ranking of World Universities. So it was a great honor for me to be at Lund University, in the charming cobble-stoned city of Lund. I believe that Lund University offers so many opportunities, that any researcher will be enthusiastic about doing their best at researching and coming up with creative ideas. A salient example is that the artificial kidney, ultrasound technology and Bluetooth are all examples of inventions that originated from Lund University and went on to open new opportunities for millions of people all over the world. It is worthwhile to mention that Sweden is a wonderful place to live with its kind people, excellent public services and corporate culture that encourages students to have a good work-life balance.

About My Research Work

Turning to my research project, it is about Uzbekistan and the Corruption indicators by the World Bank. In my research, I am planning to conduct descriptive analysis of improving the country’s position in this indicator.

As is widely argued by scholars in the area of anti-corruption, corruption is a factor influencing the development of the country’s economy, efficiency, and legitimacy of government agencies. Any form of corruption not only creates conditions for the violation of the rights and freedoms of citizens, but also undermines the legitimacy of the state and its bodies and negatively affects private entities and foreign investors.

One of the main factors which impedes foreign investment is corruption. This in turn affects growth of the economy and jobs. Countries that are efficient in fighting corruption use their human and financial resources more efficiently, attract more investment, and grow faster.

In this regard, comprehensive reforms aimed at improving the business environment, guaranteeing the rights of business entities, developing corporate governance are being undertaken in Uzbekistan. Relevant government agencies have been entrusted with the task of improving the position of Uzbekistan in international economic and political-legal rankings and indices, further enhancing the position of the country in the international arena by establishing cooperation with foreign rating agencies. Several presidential decrees were adopted for the implementation of these reforms. Presidential decrees number 4210 “On measures to improve the place of the republic of Uzbekistan in international ratings and indices,” and number 6003 “New mechanism for improving the republic of Uzbekistan’s position in international ratings and indices” regulate this process.

Despite a noticeable increase of Uzbekistan’s performance in a number of international rankings, there is a need for more systematic work in this field and capacity building of state officials should be conducted. As a result, Uzbekistan remains at the bottom of some international rankings and indices.

Therefore, I am going to analyze the measuring methodology, sub-components of World Governance Indicators, namely its Control of Corruption indicator, to try and identify the main factors that contribute to the low performance of Uzbekistan in international rankings.

Personal thoughts about living in Sweden

Embarking on a social life in Sweden is an epic journey with a cultural shock. In my opinion, Swedish people are respectful, modern and innovative. Below, I will share my views on some aspects of living in Sweden.

Learn Swedish

It is widely known that Sweden is the first country with most non-native speakers of English. From their school time, Swedes learn English as a compulsory course. However, knowing English does not mean that one doesn’t have to learn Swedish language. In my point of view, there are following reasons to learn Swedish:

First, markets, shops, café and restaurants use Swedish language for the advertisements, product information, etc. If one does not have even elementary knowledge of Swedish language, he/she will face a challenging situation in shopping or in getting acquainted with information about the products.

Secondly, it can be expected that a group of Swedish people communicate in their language. The more you understand, the more you will be able to adapt to the situation.

(Swedish For Immigrants course)

Swedish government provide free Swedish language classes for anyone who moved to Sweden and got “personnummer.”

Importance of a “personnummer”

A “personnummer” is a special personal identity number issued by the government of Sweden. The question “Why a Swedish personnummer is needed?” may arise. Because it is what allows you to receive healthcare services, but it does not mean that one can’t get emergency treatment without personnummer. It means that one can open a bank account, get insurance, sign contracts, receive discounts at markets more easily.

Amazing nature

When talking about Sweden, it is hard not to mention beautiful landscapes of Sweden. The nature, northern wonderland, the Northern Lights, and the beaches attract people and increase love for nature of the Swedes from childhood. Such a calming environment in the nature allows to work with more concentration when researchers come from the urban areas. Do yourself a favor and look into visiting Sweden some day!

Swedish response to Covid-19

Various measurements to limit the spread of COVID-19 within the country were presented by the Swedish Government. The purpose of these measures is to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 and to safeguard people’s lives and health and to maintain the health care capacity.

Although no strict mandatory measures were taken to limit crowds in public transport, shopping malls, or in other public places, it is noteworthy to indicate that people themselves have been very cautious at following the social distancing recommendations.

Although no strict mandatory measures were taken to limit crowds in public transport, shopping malls, or in other public places, it is noteworthy to indicate that people themselves have been very cautious at following the social distancing recommendations.

Overall impressions from the fellowship and the project

From my first day at Lund University in Sweden, I enjoyed doing secondment and learned various methods of research. The brief conclusion is that the secondment at Lund University, Department of Sociology of Law gave me a unique opportunity to improve my research skills and expanded my academic horizon.

Ulugbek Abdurakhmanov conducted research on teleworking during his two-months guest research stay (secondment) at Lund University in the frame of the Central Asian Law project.  During his research stay, Ulugbek collected rich survey data on teleworking in Uzbekistan. Based on his analysis of this rich survey data, Ulugbek produced a series of blog posts on the concept of teleworking and its relevance and usage in the context of Uzbekistan. In this last part of the blog post, Ulugbek talks about the early COVID-19 situation in Uzbekistan and its connection to the development of the teleworking in the country. This blog post also provides conclusions of the series and highlights the importance of further research in this area.

PART III

3. COVID-19 AND PEOPLE’S PERCEPTION TOWARDS TELEWORKING IN UZBEKISTAN

by Ulugbek Abdurakhmanov

ulugbek.abdurakhmanow@gmail.com

Covid-19 related situation and adopted measures in the early pandemic times

In the high time of maintaining social distancing during COVID-19, many countries have imposed various degrees of work from home policies to minimize virus contraction amongst colleagues. In the USA, 34.1% of around 8,000 survey participants of the study by Brynjolfsson et al. (2020) have switched to home office, and 37% of American jobs, according to Dingel and Neiman (2020) can be conducted at home (e.g. finance, corporate management, professional and scientific services). However, Dingel and Neiman (2020) pointed out that jobs like agriculture, hospitality and retail are unlikely to be completed at home. In fact, Baker (2020) found that 75% American workers (usually in healthcare, manufacturing, retail and food catering) cannot work at home, while only 25% (usually in technology, computer, management, administration, finance and engineering) can do so. Companies which were hit hard by the isolation or failed to adapt to work from home arrangement were forced to shut down, lay-off or put employees on furlough. Brynjolfsson et al. (2020) estimated that 16 m Americans were hence out of work; worse still, Kahn et al. (2020) concluded that job vacancies have contracted in all sectors except nursing and food-selling retail. In China, Zhang et al. (2020) observed a slightly higher rate of work from home – 38% have worked from home. That said, 25% also ceased working. This brought huge physiological and mental impact on people in both countries. Unlike the statutory isolation imposed by the Chinese Government, Zhong (2020) noted that the neighbouring country Japan only set up a Telework Comprehensive Portal Site which offered citizens information and a discussion platform that work from home is purely voluntary. Compared to the USA, China and Japan, much stricter policies have been in place in Belgium. According to de Baker (2020), the Belgium Ministerial decree on March 18, 2020, stipulated that all non-essential jobs (i.e. jobs other than ministers, hospitals, elderly homes, universities, media, police and military forces, courts and tribunals, legal professions and food sellers) shall either switch to home office or maintain 1.5 m distancing between staff members. Violators were forced to shut down. Different extent of isolation polices (which ultimately led to the emergent adaptation of work from home in companies) may be due to various factors. Dingel and Neiman (2020) found a positive correlation between a country’s income level and the number of jobs that can be completed at home. While Mexico and Turkey have less than 25% work from home -able job share, Sweden and the UK have more than 40%. In short, the wealthier a country, the more likely work from home can take place in it.

In March 2020, the first quarantine due to the COVID-19 virus was announced in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 5969 dated March 19, 2020, “On priority measures to mitigate the negative impact of coronavirus pandemic and global crisis on the economic sectors” and the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 176 dated March 23, 2020, “On additional measures against the spread of coronavirus infection” have been adopted.

In accordance with the Decree No. 5969, a Republican Anti-Crisis Commission was established, the main tasks of which include rapid response to any problems in connection with the pandemic. The decree also stipulates the development of additional measures to ensure smooth operation of industries and economic sectors in the course of fighting the spread of coronavirus infection and other global risks.

Starting from March 23, 2020, for the period of quarantine, both public and private organizations faced an urgent need to digitize their activities: educational activities in universities, schools, and kindergartens were moved to the virtual space, in order to ensure a safe work environment and limit the spread of COVID-19 among workers, government and companies have directed their workers to work from home, some employees were entitled to get annual leave, as prescribed by law.

Many, employers and employees alike, had limited experience with teleworking on such a large scale before the outbreak. Employers had been comfortable following the standards of office-based work and workers were comfortable with the dichotomy of work and home life. Suddenly companies were faced with the very real possibility of losing revenue and jobs. Combined with the fear and uncertainty of the virus, this disruption was huge, stressful, and painful. Teleworking was looked on as a potential solution to relieve the pain.

In this regard, many developed countries like the USA, UK, and EU countries have coherent development of teleworking, established legal basis, and systematically publish studies and guidelines for its successful implementation.

For instance, the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 was signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 9, 2010, which is a key factor in the ability to achieve greater flexibility in managing the telework, this is much more elaborate. The Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 requires that the head of each executive agency establish and implement a policy under which employees shall be authorized to telework, and for other purposes. In this Act, there are basic definitions, executive agencies telework requirement, training and monitoring, policy and support, telework managing officer, reporting and others, but there is also a part about the telework research. It is said that the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall research the utilization of telework by public and private sector entities, review the outcomes associated with an increase in telework, including the effects of telework on energy consumption, job creation and availability, urban transportation patterns, and the ability to anticipate the dispersal of work during periods of emergency. The director should also make any studies or reviews performed under this subsection available to the public (Vrchota et.al., 2019).

Unfortunately, in Uzbekistan, there still neither policy/regulations at the government level regarding teleworking nor agreement between the social partners on teleworking at the legislative level exist by this time. In addition, there is no statistical data on how many employees were teleworking pre- and during the pandemic.

In connection with the massive pattern of Covid-19 and to anticipate the spread of the virus, the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan has approved a temporary procedure for the transfer of workers to remote work or flexible working hours. It should be noted that this procedure operated exclusively during the period of quarantine measures associated with the pandemic. According to it, employers could transfer employees with their consent to teleworking or flexible working hours. The transfer has been made out by order of the employer on the basis of changes made to the employment contract. The signing by the employee of an additional agreement to the employment contract is considered his consent to such changes. Unfortunately, further attempts to develop teleworking programs have not been taken, on the contrary adoption of a temporary act was evaluated by a society that teleworking can be experienced only during quarantine alone.

Due to the lack of preparedness to the remote working model and prolongation of the quarantine, some employers could not manage to effectively introduce teleworking programs. As a consequence, the study found that 85 percent of small businesses were forced to close in March 2020. The self-employed were especially severely hit, with their income falling by 67 percent, according to the World Bank survey conducted in 2020. The same survey found that 1.3 percent of the population – equivalent to around 448,000 people – have sunk into poverty as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

Some employees had to get annual paid leave, which usually lasts from 20 to 30 calendar days, after ending of which they had to unwillingly take unpaid leave until the lockdown was over. Some even had to terminate their employment contract in response to an unofficial demand by the employers. In accordance with the information of the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations, the unemployment rate increased from 9,0 % in 2019 to 11,1 % in 2020. However, this is only official data, which may vary from real figures. Unfortunately, there is no relevant statistic related to the number of employees transferred to teleworking during quarantine countrywide.

Applied Methodology

The study followed a quantitative method of gathering data which is done through an online survey questionnaire using Google form which lasted from April to May, 2021. The questionnaire was developed in both Uzbek and Russian languages for employees to gather free opinions about telework.

Survey questionnaires supplemented with a brief cover letter explaining the purpose and importance of the research.

In order to have wide coverage of the employees from all regions, survey questionnaires were sent to the ministries, educational institutions, other public agencies, and private sector (in total-16).

A total of 20,162 employees participated in the survey. They all had a relatively good or poor teleworking experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the survey show that majority of the respondents preferred teleworking indicating its advantages they can benefit from.

4. CONCLUSIONS AND PERSPECTIVES

Uzbekistan has been facing various problems, such as overcrowded cities and uncontrollable environmental problems due to the concentration of industries and business activities in metropolitan areas. In particular, the problems such as high land price, heavy traffic jams, and long commuting time in Tashkent and its vicinity are serious and at the same time a lack of rural infrastructure’s development appears to be a never-ending problem. Therefore, in order to remain competitive and flexible in the labour market in the future and find a relevant solution to the arising problems, in our view, it is timely to think about gradual transformation to the alternative work arrangements.

However, it is critically important to examine the position of managers, as we know from the literature that most of them take the opposite stand. Subsequent research should also investigate complex issues related to the features and consequences of introducing teleworking such as legal basis, types of remote working, gender issues, phycological aspects, managerial attitudes, work-family conflicts, social and cultural aspects, employment of people with disabilities, environmental changes and infrastructural changes, urban planning, use of ICT and Internet, etc.

Acknowledgment

The author would like to give many thanks to Mr. Rustamjon Urinboyev, Associate Professor at the Department of the Sociology of Law of the Lund University of Sweden for supporting many sources of information and feedbacks on the previous version of the paper and sincere appreciation to the Head of the Academy of the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan Mr. Evgeniy Kolenko for support to conduct this research. I am also thankful for the encouragement and guidelines from Mr. Berdymyrad Ovezmyradov and Mr. Tolibjon Mustafoyev and to my family for continuous moral support.

Funding

This research was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) Programme under the grant agreement No 870647 (project acronym: Central Asian Law). The information and views set out in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union.

Conflicts of Interest

The author declares no conflict of interest.

References

Baker, M.G. (2020), Who cannot work from home? Characterizing Occupations Facing Increased Risk during the COVID-19 Pandemic Using 2018 BLS Data, (in press), MedRxiv, available at: https:// www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.21.20031336v2.full.pdf.

Brynjolfsson, E., Horton, J., Ozimek, A., Rock, D., Sharma, G. and Ye, H.Y.T. (2020), COVID-19 and Remote Work: An Early Look at US Data, available at: http://hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/537312.

Burke, R.J. 2005. Foreword. In Work–life integration: Case studies of organisational change, ed. S. Lewis and C. Cooper, ix– xii. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons.

Dawn R. Swink, Telecommuter Law: A New Frontier in Legal Liability, 38 Am. BUS. L.J. 857, 861-62 (2001).

Dingel, J.I. and Neiman, B., How Many Jobs Can Be Done at Home?, (Working paper), NBER Working Paper Series 26948, available at: https://www.nber.org/papers/w26948.

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https://eurasianet.org/uzbekistan-second-lockdown-imposed-bringing-specter-of-more-economic-pain https://www.stat.uz/en/press-center/news-of-committee/8260-so-nggi-10-yillikda-qayd-etilgan-ajrimlar-soni-3

by Ulugbek Abdurakhmanov

Academy of the General Prosecutor’s Office, Uzbekistan

ulugbek.abdurakhmanow@gmail.com

Ulugbek Abdurakhmanov conducted research on teleworking during his two-months guest research stay (secondment) at Lund University in the frame of the Central Asian Law project.  During his research stay Ulugbek collected rich survey data on teleworking in Uzbekistan. Based on his analysis of this rich survey data, Ulugbek produced a series of blog posts on the concept of teleworking and its relevance and usage in the context of Uzbekistan. In his second blog post, Ulugbek talks about the origin of telework and provides the review of literature on possible advantages and disadvantages of telework.

2. CONCEPT OF TELEWORK

2.1. Origin of the Terminology

The concept of telework (or, more precisely, telecommuting) was born during the oil crisis in the early 1970s when a researcher at the University of Southern California Jack Nilles and colleagues published their calculations on the savings to the national economy that should result from reduced commuting (Nilles et al., 1976). This idea was developed in response to the Arab Oil Embargo and the recognition that fossil fuels were a finite resource (Reymers, 1996) and aimed at creating a more flexible communication system for employees, reduce the need for transportation, and ultimately decentralize the traditional workplace (Mears, 2007).

Nilles himself has added many qualifications to his “father of telework” mantle, pointing out that in his prototypes, employees still physically commuted to a work location – the buildings were merely suburban rather than metropolitan. Less remarked on is that teleworking in this form already existed, both as a theory (versions had been proposed in science fiction as early as 1909) and as a practice. Nilles’s own employer, NASA, had done something similar in the 1960s.

These innovations were prefigured by an even older thread of beliefs and practices that ran right through the twentieth century. They urged work to return to its rightful place in the home, through cultural modifications and the assistance of technology. In 1964, the science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke (himself an early advocate for telecommunications satellites) minted the motto “Don’t commute – communicate!” With widespread acceptance of this maxim, Clarke said, civilization could expect the “disintegration of the city” by the year 2000. Almost any executive skill, any administrative skill, even any physical skill, could be rendered independent of distance (Cooke, 2021).

Thus, during its origins, telework was seen primarily as a means to avoid commuting to work (Sullivan, 2003). However, later that decade, the use of the silicon chip resulted in a proliferation of personal computers and word-processing technology (Reymers, 1996). Gradually, this led to a recognition that in addition to providing employees with a more flexible work schedule, teleworking helped employers save on overhead office costs, increased worker productivity, and decreased employee absences (Swink, 2001).

2.3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Telework

Advantages of telework for workers

The advantages of telework include but are not limited to:

(1) increased flexibility and autonomy (Baruch, 2000; Pearlson and Saunders, 2001; Tremblay, 2002; Golden, 2009; Hornung and Glaser, 2009; Gregg, 2011; Maruyama and Tietze, 2012; Sardeshmukh et al., 2012; Tremblay and Thomsin, 2012). Teleworking employees have more freedom to structure their work activities and decide when, where and how they engage with work, enabling them, for instance, to work according to their own productivity cycles and times (Morgan, 2004; Gajendran and Harrison, 2007; Pyöriä, 2011). This flexibility can contribute to organisational agility, as workers are able to access work-related information more efficiently, regardless of time and space (Morgan, 2004; Campbell and McDonald, 2009; Overmyer, 2011).

(2) higher job satisfaction (Morgan, 2004; Gajendran and Harrison, 2007; Golden, 2009; Hornung and Glaser, 2009; Fonner and Roloff, 2010; Overmyer, 2011).

(3) improved work morale (Campbell and McDonald, 2009; Kanellopoulos, 2011; Pyöriä, 2011; Wheatley, 2012).

(4) better coordination of work and non-work commitments, thus improving work-life balance (Sullivan and Lewis, 2001; Gajendran and Harrison, 2007; Golden, 2009; Gregg, 2011; Kanellopoulos, 2011; Overmyer, 2011; Tremblay and Thomsin, 2012).

(5) Increased family time: the likelihood to remotely work from home on a telework basis empowers employees to combine work with the capacity to manage family-related issues (Johnson et al., 2007) and enables balance between work and family time, thus, making it possible to care for kids and other relatives, which is a significant resource for teleemployees and could lead to positive work results (Diab-Bahman and Al-Enzi, 2021).

(6) Possibility to work from home in case of sickness: having the option to telework in case of sickness can be regarded as a substitute to office presenteeism (Johns, 2010). It is plausible that people who wish to fulfill their work commitments under any conditions might be less stressed due to telework possibility. In this way, this factor can be considered a significant resource that can build employee satisfaction and productivity (Diab-Bahman and Al-Enzi, 2021) and allows a gradual return to the conventional workplace.

(7) more productivity because they experience less interruptions than colleagues working in a potentially noisy and disruptive office environment (Baruch, 2000; Bailey and Kurland, 2002; Sherry and Salvador, 2002; Morgan, 2004; Fonner and Roloff, 2010; Tremblay and Thomsin, 2012).

(8) Save on travel expenses: as teleworkers have reduced driving time to and from home, travel costs are additionally decreased (Tremblay and Genin, 2007). This likelihood to save money on travel costs, such as fuel, can likewise be a factor of increasing employee satisfaction (Diab-Bahman and Al-Enzi, 2021).

(9) more independence, convenience and flexibility for the workers with disabilities.

Besides, teleworking has been valued more by females than males, since it allows women to deal with, invest more energy and spend more time with their kids, which would not be conceivable without it (Hartig et al., 2007). Women have been increasingly motivated by the adaptability, flexibility and increased independence/autonomy when teleworking, as teleworking permits them to balance their work and family time (Lim and Teo, 2000). In addition, it could likewise build professional opportunities for women (Schreiber, 1999), as they would be able to work from home during sick as well as maternity leaves. Furthermore, it encourages men to become more associated with family issues, which may eliminate the current segregation roles between the genders (Diab-Bahman and Al-Enzi, 2021).

Advantages of telework for organizations

There are several advantages pointed out in the literature, such as:

(1) Higher/better productivity (Tremblay, 2002; Harpaz, 2002; Morgan, 2004; Gajendran and Harrison, 2007; Martínez Sánchez et al., 2007; Gregg, 2011; Overmyer, 2011; Maruyama and Tietze, 2012). For instance, teleworkers might put some of the time saved from their daily commute to the company office into additional productive work (Johnson et al., 2007; Kanellopoulos, 2011; Pyöriä, 2011; Tremblay and Thomsin, 2012).

(2) Cost saving: according to Radcliffe (2010), companies could cut back on costs while teleworking. Some examples of such savings include infrastructure, office renovation, operational costs, office rent, water, electricity, telecommunication and Internet bills, cleaning and security staff, parking, etc. (Golden, 2006, Sardeshmukh et al., 2012; Duxbury and Halinski, 2014).

(3) Recruitment of wider staff by reducing overheads and labour costs.

(4) Non-stop functioning by recruiting employees throughout the world.

(5) Increased employees’ motivation and productivity, job engagement, and job performance (Collins and Moschler 2009; Delanoeije and Verbruggen 2020).

(6) Improved staff retention.

(7) Reduced absenteeism.

(8) Improved gender diversity (e.g. women and careers), healthier workforces with less absenteeism and turnover, higher talent retention (Mello 2007; Robertson et. al., 2003).

(9) Reduced informal communication (Khalifa and Davison, 2000), etc.

Advantages of telework for the society

According to Loh and Fishbane (2020), the benefits of teleworking is not only to the employers and their employees.

Beneficiaries of teleworking for society as a whole include reductions in the agglomeration and traffic congestion, air pollution, population centrality and energy consumption (Sampath et al., 1996; Safirova, 2002; White et al., 2007; Rhee, 2008). This point is important as a 2011 traffic report shows that commuters in Baltimore, USA, spend between 50 to 70 hours yearly stuck in rush hour traffic (Plyles, 2011). Despite the above benefits, Loh and Fishbane, (2020), observe that telework will not eliminate the potential of face-to-face work and social ties/interaction.

Teleworking has also great economic and environmental benefits. According to a 2011 Statistics by Telework Research Network, (TRN), teleworking has the potential of saving the United States about 750 million dollars daily. This research body maintained that if the 41 million Americans having telework compatible jobs work from home at least a day in a week, the United States financial savings would total 772 million USD including: 494 million USD in commuter costs; 93 million USD from 775 fewer traffic-related accidents. Furthermore, TRN observes that the environment will be made healthier by the 423, 000 tons of greenhouse gas spared amounting to an equivalent of taking 77, 000 vehicles off the road in a year (TRN, 2011).

Some studies regarding the development of telework in the US (US Congress, 2014; Jones, 2015; PGi, 2015), showed that the percentage of people who telecommute has increased every year. In the study The State of Telework in the U.S. (Lister and Harnish, 2011) highlights the following issues:

· 45% of the US workforce holds a job that is compatible with teleworking (partial or total).

· If all who have jobs compatible with teleworking system would work at home 2.4 days per week, then you could save 900 billion dollars annually and would reduce oil imports from the Persian Gulf by 45%.

· The number of workers in teleworking system increased by 61% between 2005 and 2009. In the same period, employment in the domestic system increased by 1.7%.

Teleworking also contributes to improving employment in rural areas which in return may bring to the development of the essential infrastructure.

There are no findings of the impact of teleworking in development of the inner tourism. After the appearance of the Covid-19 and consequently the closure of borders and imposed restrictions many countries suffered from a dramatic decrease in travel and tourism industry, which also led to the employment loss which in turn affected the economy of countries, especially those which mostly rely on this sphere. So, in our view, allowing employees to telework can have a positive impact on the development of internal tourism and thus maintain the economy of the country.

Disadvantages of telework

However, important disadvantages associated with telework are also reported in the literature.

It is argued that telework may hinder teamwork and collaboration as team members, not physically co-located, have reduced ability to build shared understanding and implicit knowledge (Baruch, 2000; Pearlson and Saunders, 2001; Brodt and Verburg, 2007; Pyöriä, 2011; Sarker et al., 2012). For instance, telework can obstruct trust-building among team members (Pyöriä, 2011), reduce the quality and frequency of information exchange among team members (Fonner and Roloff, 2010), and hinder the building of team spirit due to adverse reactions by non-teleworking co-workers (Overmyer, 2011; Tremblay and Thomsin, 2012).

Furthermore, as teleworkers have reduced opportunities for social and informal interactions with colleagues, telework may contribute to feelings of social isolation and a lack of workplace involvement (Tremblay, 2002; Mann and Holdsworth, 2003; Gajendran and Harrison, 2007; Golden, 2009; Gregg, 2011; Maruyama and Tietze, 2012; Sardeshmukh et al., 2012; Tremblay and Thomsin, 2012). Telework may thus contribute towards decreased work satisfaction and to a feeling of social isolation (Mann and Holdsworth, 2003; Pyöriä, 2011), potentially contributing towards reduced identification with their organisations and reduced organisational commitment (Allen et al., 2003; Golden, 2009).

Some authors also argued that teleworkers might be subject to more interruptions, such as potential distractions from family members or co-workers via email, calls and chat (Baruch, 2000; Sherry and Salvador, 2002; Leonardi et al., 2010; Kazekami, 2020).

Several authors reported that telework may contribute to overwork and an increase in work-life conflict, as the boundary between work and private life becomes blurred (Tietze and Musson, 2002; Mann and Holdsworth, 2003; Gregg, 2011; Overmyer, 2011; Fonner and Stache, 2012; Sarker et al., 2012; Tremblay and Thomsin, 2012; Gold and Mustafa, 2013; Grant et al. 2019). In this sense, telework’s promise of flexibility to work anywhere and anytime may actually reduce workers’ autonomy to decide when and where to engage with work (Mazmanian et al., 2013), thus contributing to workaholism where teleworkers work everywhere (Sarker et al., 2012). In a similar vein, the management of boundaries between work and family of remote workers studied by Eddleston and Mulki (2017) revealed that telework relates to the inability of remote workers to disengage from work. Virtual workers’ heavy reliance on information and communication technologies (ICTs) creates additional job demands. They must devote time to staying current on these constantly changing and increasingly complex technologies (Ragu-Nathan et al., 2008). Some virtual workers may have limited access to training and technical support, making it difficult to stay up-to-date and master the technologies. In some locations, workers may be hampered by inadequate infrastructure (e.g., lack of fast Internet) (Graves and Karabayeva, 2020). Moreover, even if virtual workers have a technical understanding of ICTs, they may not know how to use them effectively in virtual settings (Wang and Haggerty, 2011).

Some teleworkers were also concerned about their career promotions, thinking that face-to-face interaction with the manager/employer is a key point in career opportunities.

In some cases, feeling a fear that employee representations/trade unions might not cover teleworkers and not protect them has also been listed as a drawback of teleworking.

References

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I am Azizbek Hamidov. In this blog post, I would like to share my secondment experience at the Department of Sociology of Law, Lund University. My secondment started on the 1^st of May within the framework of the Central Asian Law project. Such an internship in one of the leading European countries, where the observance of human rights and the standard of living is highly appreciated, provides an excellent opportunity to make one’s research more effective. I moved to academia in  2018, when I started working as a senior lecturer at the Academy of the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Before embracing academic career, I was a legal practitioner and worked in various government institutions, such as the local municipality, the Ministry of Justice and the prosecutor’s office. This project provides an opportunity for me to share my experience with project participants based on the knowledge I have gained so far as a legal practitioner. As my secondment period is taking place at the time of Covid-19 pandemic, I had to adjust my research plans in order to comply with the local regulations and restrictions in Sweden. However, with the support of project managers, I am trying to conduct as many online meetings as possible and receive information about my research. That is, this situation also allows us to more actively introduce information technology into our lives.

Unenforced court acts are not different from ordinary paper.

My research area is the enforcement of court decisions and the legal decisions and acts of different state bodies. Improper organization of the implementation of court decisions has a negative impact on the daily workings of the justice system and the effectiveness of legal governance.

Uzbekistan is one of the economically developing countries. This process cannot be successful without attracting foreign investment. A favourable and attractive investment climate in the country is ensured by the rule of law. The rule of law, as noted above, depends on their successful enforcement. In economic relations, business entities are more interested in recovering their damages, rather than the actions or sanctions taken against the offender. That is, there is a need to ensure that the adequate compensation is paid to affected parties and this will restore their violated right, and this task is the function of the executive body of the state.

Sweden has unique experience in the field of enforcement of court decisions. In the course of studying Swedish system, I see that there are some aspects worthy of in-depth study and the implementation of some of its functions in the legislation of Uzbekistan. I would like to highlight the huge help in studying the system of execution in Sweden, by my colleague Davor Vuleta who has a rich work experience at the Swedish Enforcement Authority. He is also doing PhD in sociology of law at Lund University and his doctoral thesis investigates the enforcement of debts in Swedish context.

“If you have debts or you are owed money, we can help.”

I found particularly interesting the fact that the Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden) organized its activities under the above mission statement “(https://kronofogden.se/english.html)”. Kronofogden is a state body under the Ministry of Finance and is subordinate to the government.

One of the functions of this body is to partially repay or release the debt for five years while ensuring the stability of the personal and family economic status of debtors in the collection of debt under certain executive documents. The intended goal is to restore the economic situation of some category of individuals by partially or completely releasing them from debt.

This procedure serves to achieve the state body, not as an organization that collects debts in public relations by applying legal measures (sanctions), but rather, it evokes the idea of itself as a state body that helps creditors to collect debts faster, and debtors to get rid of debts as soon as possible and more conveniently.

Efficiency of activity or the rule of human rights?

Most scholars in the Central Asian region view the area I am studying, i.e. enforcement proceedings, as a stage of civil procedure. Perhaps this is why research in this area is rare in the countries of the former Soviet Union. In the course of my research, I have witnessed that some aspects and effectiveness of the practice of enforcement proceedings in the Republic of Uzbekistan can serve as a model for Sweden and many other developed countries.

Our national legislation provides for strict and rigorous measures against the debtor, and as a result, high efficiency is achieved. Of course, efficiency is always preferable, but in the conduct of enforcement proceedings should not be forgotten not only the interests of the creditor but also the basic rights of the debtor. The complexity of the industry is also such that it is important to make a decision that is legitimate and mutually beneficial in the process. So in this case I see that the approach of the Swedish Executive Body to Enforcement is attractive in terms of its sociological nature.

Difference in research area of host and home institutions

Research in our country is mainly based on the “white spots” in the legislation and/or foreign experience. It is important to study the extent to which legislation works in practice, how it affects the life of society, and why in some respects existing laws do not always work and “unwritten laws” come into force. Such an approach to research serves to raise the most pressing issues, increase their effectiveness and applicability. The difference of the research focus on these aspects of the project, and the methods of collecting analytical data using sociological surveys, are becoming a new experience for me.

Fika

The Swedes are big fans of “fika”, a coffee-break, which has turned into a concept, a state of mind, an attitude and an important part of Swedish culture. In one of the fika organized by the project managers by following the quarantine rules, I met Professor Per Wickenberg, who is one of the experts in the field of sociology of law. During our conversation, I had the opportunity to exchange views on the sociology of law, its role in society and its differences from the subject of “law”.

My overall impressions

Lund is a small town in the south of Sweden, which is also known as a student city. Lund University (LU) is a Swedish state higher education institution, founded in 1666. The University has a city-type campus in Lund. Today, it is one of the top 100 universities in the world in terms of the quality of education, according to the QS World University Rankings (77). All facilities for students and researchers, including access to the library, information resources, and dormitory selection and placement, are well established by the university administration.

Skåne, i.e. Sweden’s southernmost county where Lund is situated, is distinguished by its magnificent nature due to its geographical location between the Baltic and the North Sea. The attitude of the population to nature should be recognized.

Thanks for your support and help!

At the end of my post, I would like to thank the Heads of the Academy of the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Lund University, as well as the head of the Department of Sociology of Law Isabel Schoultz and Rustam Urinboyev for their cooperation in the project and hosting me a guest researcher in the frame of Central Asian Law project.

I wish all members of the Central Asian Law project good health and success in their research work!

In this blog post, Ulugbek Abdurakhmanov shares his secondment experience at Lund University. He also talks about his research interests, impressions of the Swedish culture, opportunities for students, as well as discusses how restrictions regarding Covid-19 affected his secondment experience.

Briefly about myself

My name is Ulugbek Abdurakhmanov. Currently I work as a head of the Masters’ programs of the Academy, I have more than 10 years of practical experience in the Prosecutor’s Office. As a lawyer, the main focus of my research is labour law.

My secondment at Lund University started from the beginning of April and will last until the end of May 2021 and was held within the framework of the project funded by the European Commission’s H2020 MSCA-RISE programme “Central Asian Law: Legal Cultures and Business Environments in Central Asia”. Doing secondment at Lund University, one of the oldest and prestigious universities in Scandinavia, provides me with a unique opportunity to enrich my academic skills and international experience.

Purpose of the secondment

Currently, the whole population of the world is witnessing an unprecedented time in our history. It is not only a unique situation in our lifetime but also perhaps a unique situation across generations, with the previous similar pandemic having taken place about 100 years ago. By the time of writing this blog in the first ten days of May 2021, almost 160 million people have been afflicted by the diseases and more than 3 million people have died worldwide. Indeed, there have been numerous terrible events that have taken place since the last pandemic but nothing that has had the global impact quite as COVID has.

In this regard, the labour market of Uzbekistan has also experienced a fundamental change, which I believe had both negative and positive impacts. Among others, the negative impacts included the uncertainty of working conditions, decreased wages and job cuts, discharging of employees for unpaid leaves, all partly due to low penetration of remote working practice across the country. Moreover, Uzbekistan, exporting around 2 millions of labour migrants annually to other countries, faced a thorny issue of low employment rate after these migrants returned back to the country.

On the other hand, popularisation of remote working (teleworking) during the pandemic could be attributed to a positive impact. Before that, teleworking has been acknowledged neither in legislature and academic circles nor by companies themselves because Uzbek organizational culture gives its priority to face-to-face interaction. Personal relationships play an important role in the advancement of the employees in an organization and promotions are based on experience and personal relationships with the supervisors.

Interestingly, after the lockdown ended, companies started to return to the traditional working pattern and it seemed that many people viewed teleworking “as a means applied during the pandemic times alone”.

Naturally, a major question arises here – should teleworking be referred to as an option of working style only during lockdowns or should it be considered as a way of improvement of job quality, increased employee satisfaction, and developing the company in a competitive marketplace? Thus, in order to thoroughly explore this area, review the existing research, and find the best theoretical and practical approaches in implementing teleworking programs within the business entities, I decided to conduct research on teleworking during my secondment at Lund University.

The flow of the research and plans

Because of the Covid-19 restrictions, I had a limited opportunity to use my workspace at the Department of Sociology of Law. But, during my one of rare visits to the department, I was very pleased to meet the Head of the Department Isabel Schoultz, and was warmly welcomed by her.

Afterward, I discussed with Rustamjon Urinboyev, a project coordinator, all issues, related to my research topic and we decided that upon gathering and reviewing the relevant literature, we would discuss important points and nuances of the topic for further development of my research project.

Needless to say that Lund University has access to EBSCO – electronic scientific database worldwide and I found that this is one of the advantages of doing secondment at Lund University which enabled me to freely access and download many articles relevant to my research. Given the fact that I could gather more than 500 articles and other electronic publications on the teleworking topic only, with some of them going back even to the early 1980s, I can imagine how one could enjoy having this access to immense scientific materials and I believe this is important for every researcher.

Getting acquainted with these materials gave me a unique insight on how to develop a concept of teleworking in the context of Uzbekistan by taking into account the peculiarities of traditional organizational cultures.

Interestingly, the debate on teleworking began in the early 1970s, at the University of Southern California, when “the father of teleworking” Jack Nilles presented the term telecommuting during a research project for the National Science Foundation, which simply meant the opportunity to work from home using telecommunication means. At the time of the oil crisis, a special demand for new ways to conserve energy was identified, and it is with this background that the author discusses the potential in the substitution of commuting by the technically possible telecommuting. This concept would be materialized as an electronic-mediated distance working, with advantages not only in saving energy but also in providing less traffic and environmental pollution, less stressful working conditions, more time for family and leisure, or the possibility of substantial savings in office costs.

Pioneers in developing and implementing teleworking programs at various levels are the US, UK, and EU, especially Nordic countries. For instance, to name but a few, in 1993 a wide network of telecottages has been established in these countries: 10 in Norway, 39 in Sweden, 44 in Finland and 10 in Denmark and employees from different companies living nearby could gather and work in one place equipped with necessary information technologies. During my secondment, I intend to visit one of the telecottages and get more information regarding their activities.

Teleworking is a many-faceted phenomenon. Within the framework of this project and based upon my knowledge I have acquired at Lund University, I am going to develop a teleworking program for Uzbekistan and in conformity with the program, we will launch a pilot project within one company to measure its advantages as well as drawbacks.

However, there is a likelihood that we may confront resistance from the top and mid-level managers, in some circumstances even from employees, which should not be excluded, because in the early stage of its implementation every country faced those obstacles, since these subjects all got used to the traditional “employer-employee” relationship. Therefore, after running a pilot project, we should design a program based on feedbacks, which should be cost-effective for the company, family-friendly for employees, and beneficial for the country in terms of less air pollution, traffic congestion, energy consumption, etc.

People’s lifestyle in Sweden

Before arriving to Sweden, I found that according to the World Happiness Index of 2020, Sweden held the 7th position and has held leading positions for a long time. After my arrival, I found out that the values of life here are different from those that we have. Of particular relevance in this regard has the term “Lagom” which according to Wikipedia means “just the right amount”. This word can be variously translated as “in moderation”, “in balance”, “perfect-simple”, and “suitable” (in the matter of amounts). Whereas words like sufficient and average suggest some degree of abstinence, scarcity, or failure, lagom carries the connotation of appropriateness, although not necessarily perfection.

A “Lagom” house in Lund: not fancy looking but livable and comfortable house

In my opinion, “lagom” exactly plays a core role in people’s perception of happiness.

“Have you seen the sunshine? No, what is that?”

When I was leaving my country, it was relatively cold but nature was gradually turning green. So, upon arrival in Sweden, I understood that I came from early spring back to the winter. It was very cold outside, cloudy almost every day with very little sunshine. As far as my homeland has a lot of sunny days during the whole year for the first time in my life, I felt happy after seeing sunshine, though a very little.

Lund city (April 5, 2021)

Weather forecast for the first week of May 2021

And as I mentioned above, we enjoyed few sunny days as well =).

“Stortorget” – the main square of Lund city

Be careful, a bicycle is coming

Bicycles are another big topic in Lund. I was told that Lund is a city of bicycles but was not informed that some maybe even invisible. Therefore, during strolling around one should be very careful because anytime a bicycle can come behind you and you may never notice it.

Summing up, I have to underline that, there is a little opportunity for in-depth research in my country because of lack of access to the e-resources. Moreover, I had an opportunity to exchange ideas with the project coordinator and others members of this project, who gave invaluable ideas on how to conduct research using various methods and achieve my research goals. Most importantly, I have gained rich academic experience in my area of interest. So, this project paved a unique way for further enhancement of my knowledge in a respective field.

Therefore, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Department of Sociology of Law, Lund University and the Central Asian Law project (funded by the European Commission under H2020 MSCA-RISE programme) for providing opportunities for building collaboration and networking among academic circles in Europe and Central Asia.

BY TOLIBJON MUSTAFOEV

(Transparency International, 2021)

In this post, Tolibjon Mustafoev shares his preliminary analysis on critical reflections and methodological considerations of Transparency International’s standardization method for generating the Corruption Perceptions Index. He also discusses the nexus between transparency, indices and business climate in Uzbekistan.

What is Transparency International (TI)? And what does it generate?

TI is recognized as the ‘corruption measuring’ institution which observes and notes the level of corruption in societies worldwide. Since 1995 Transparency International with the Internet Centre for Corruption Research at the University of Passau in Germany has analyzed the level of corruption perception in more than 180 countries around the world. Transparency International focuses on evaluating and systematizing corruption measurement in countries and publishing results annually (CPI);  in addition, it also publishes a Global Corruption Barometer, Global Corruption Report, and a Bribe Payers Index.

The Global Corruption Barometer debuted in 2003 and since that year has surveyed the experiences of everyday life of people confronting corruption around the world. Through the Global Corruption Barometer, tens of thousands of people around the globe are asked about their views and experiences, making it the only worldwide public opinion survey on corruption.  Furthermore, the Global Corruption Report is Transparency International’s flagship publication, bringing the expertise of the anti-corruption movement to bear on a specific corruption issue or sector. The Global Corruption Report: Education consists of more than 70 articles commissioned from experts in the field of corruption and education, from universities, think tanks, business, civil society and international organizations. One more essential part of Transparency International’s working scope is publishing the Bribe Payers Index which ranks the world’s largest economies according to the perceived likelihood of companies from these countries to pay bribes abroad. It is based on the views of business executives as captured by Transparency International’s Bribe Payers Survey. (Transparency International, 2020)

This Berlin-based NGO got world recognition as one of the most influential ‘corruption measurement’ data publishers; the well-known annual index published by Transparency International is the Corruption Perceptions Index (or CPI). Following index scores and ranks countries/territories based on at what extend the public sector is corrupted. It is a composite index, a combination of 13 surveys and assessments of corruption, collected by a variety of reputable institutions. The CPI is the most widely used indicator of corruption worldwide.

Furthermore, corruption-related ratings and indices, indirectly and directly, affect the foreign direct investment (FDI) and business attractiveness of developing states (Woo & Heo, 2009). Following this further, I am focusing on Uzbekistan in this blog post. The country is gradually adopting a new course to combat corruption crimes and improve its image in international rankings to attract more foreign investments. The adoption of the law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Combating Corruption” – № LRU-419 dated January 3, 2017, has become an important factor in combining the efforts and interest of state bodies and civil society institutions for starting joint work in corruption eradication. However, there are still some legal and institutional challenges that are creating obstacles to the effective enforcement of state anti-corruption policies. These obstacles affect Uzbekistan’s positioning in various international ratings including the Corruption Perceptions Index. The following blog critically discusses the nature of the standardization of CPI, ongoing reforms of Uzbekistan and their affiliation with positioning in CPI by applying qualitative methods, specifically, documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews. This blog post is a part of my research conducted between 2019 and 2020 as a visiting research fellow at Lund University within the Central Asian Law Project (no 870647) supported by a Marie Curie Research and Innovation Staff exchange scheme within the H2020 Programme.

Respondents representing foreign companies within my research shared their step-by-step experience of investing and starting their business operations in Uzbekistan. One of their first steps was reading and analyzing reports on transparency and governance in Uzbekistan. The Corruption Perceptions Index was the most popular document to rely on for the majority of my respondents. Complex area coverage and comprehensive methodology make the CPI one of the most popular rankings considered by foreign businesses before investing in Central Asian market.

The blog post is divided into three parts. The first part describes the methodological challenges of the Corruption Perceptions Index and critically investigates the effectiveness of the standardization method applied by Transparency International to generate its indices. The second narrative is focused on Uzbekistan and how this country has been evaluated by Transparency International for the last few years. And the last part of the blog provides a broader understanding of the legal cultures, accountability in the public sector, and democratic processes within the context of transparency phenomena; and this debate is linked to the positioning of Uzbekistan in the CPI. Thus, the following blog post raises awareness about the importance of considering the need to rethink the policies of countries that regard international indices as an important factor to economic growth and correspondingly make decisions that indirectly initiate a race in indices such as the CPI.

Ratings by TI: methodological challenges of corruption measurement 

The international ratings by Transparency International, Freedom House, World Bank, Bertelsmann Foundation, and World Economic Forum measure the level of corruption perception and transparency in different public and private sectors by applying the standardization method. Standardizing expresses comparing different values by normalizing and bringing them back to a single scale. In the case of the CPI, all values of the sources are brought to a single scale expressed from 0 to 100; where 100 is less perception of corruption, and 0 is the highest indicator of the corruption propensity. According to Transparency International experts, the standardization method allows for identifying the most corrupt areas of public administration and institutions. However, several legal scholars believe that ratings do not illustrate the measurement of “corruption”, but just standardize people’s thoughts and perceptions about corruption. Tina Søreide challenges the nature, effectiveness, and reliability of Transparency International’s CPI. She claims that the CPI is not based on “true facts about the actual levels of corruption”; rather, she calls it an “index of indices’’ (Søreide, 2006). Despite this, Corruption Perceptions Index by TI remains the most applicable and popular index regardless of the existence of scholarly arguments which claim that CPI is politicized and it applies the unjustified and unpractical methodology of standardization.

Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index is recognized as a “first-generation index” that applies diverse instrumental and statistical techniques to measure corruption by its perception in society (Johnston, 2000). These diverse statistical and data analysis techniques guarantee the CPI its leading position among the world’s corruption evaluation and analytical observation indices. However, some legal scholars argue about the validity of Transparency International’s corruption perception methodology. According to Bevan and Hood (2006, p.517), any complex governance system needs a special form of control that relies on measured performance indicators and administration by targets (Bevan & Hood, 2006). The absence of the exact “measurement” formula for evaluating the level of corruption challenges the comprehensiveness of the methodology applied by TI for making its reports and indices. Most of the sub-indicators of the CPI sources concentrate on the level of public management issues, transparency in public-sector activities, effective governance, and tolerance for corruption. The complexity and variety of sources applied by TI for creating the CPI make the corruption measurement process difficult, or even unclear.

The CPI is a score-registering trend that raises awareness about ongoing corruption-related scandals. It has a unique character, which is very influential in world politics and image-making but is not practical for countries. For example, Transparency International’s reports and indices cover only the problems, but not the solutions. Because of the standardization method, countries struggle to raise their positions in the CPI in order to improve their business and investment attractiveness. Any government reforms or sustainable development that includes anti-corruption efforts cannot guarantee an improvement of the position of the state in the CPI. Even though Transparency International standardizes countries according to its own methods, it does not and cannot provide any practical recommendations or advice for governments on the possible ways to improve their scores and position on the CPI or to better their high-risk, corruption-prone public sectors. Consequently, Gultung also agrees that theCPI mostly criticizes because it does not provide any solutions or answers to the existing corruption-related problems. Indeed, it is more practical to identify the solutions rather than raise awareness about the problems. Galtung claims that“giving harsh and negative scores to countries where reformers are hard at work is to denigrate their work and to feed cynicism and the belief that whatever they are trying to do will be unsuccessful”.  Thus, countries consider the CPI to be a race to the top, but in reality, it is the opposite (Governance-Access-Learning Network, 2014).

Uzbekistan in the CPI: validity and reliability of applied data by TI

Despite critiques of Transparency International’s methodology, Uzbekistan strives to improve its position on the CPI.  But the standardization method tracking the progress of all countries is such that simultaneous progress in the anti-corruption sector in several developing countries can still influence the position of Uzbekistan on the index. Thus, getting high positions in the CPI is quite challenging regardless of the progress made by a state over a short period because of the subjectivity of progress analyzes and the standardization method.

The first data about Uzbekistan in the Corruption Perceptions Index was published in 1999 and was based on surveys from four sources. In some years, the country was leading the Central Asian region in the Index. But Uzbekistan started getting low scores and correspondingly lower positions on the CPI due to the enlargement of the number of surveys and sources. In 2014, the country scored 18 out of 100 on the scaled computing system. This score ensured Uzbekistan would rank 166^th among 175 countries, meaning it was recognized as the Central Asian country with the second-highest level of corruption perception and corrupt public sector after Turkmenistan, which received 17 points in 2014.  The most important data that TI relied upon to measure the level of corruption perception in Uzbekistan in 2014 was presented by the World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, where the country performed poorly on all six of the main dimensions of governance assessed, which were:

• Voice and accountability
• Political stability and absence of violence
• Government effectiveness
• Regulatory quality
• Rule of law
• Control of corruption (Martini, 2015)

Transparency International’s standardization method’s progression applied by the CPI  for Uzbekistan consists of two periods: 1999-2011 (with the maximum score of the index of 10) and 2012 – 2020 (with the maximum score of the index 0f 100). Both periods illustrated in the following graphs:

• The first period as following:

Ranking: 1 (least corrupt) – 182 (most corrupt)

Score: 0 (highly corrupt)- 10 (very clean)

(b)The second period as following

Ranking: 1 (least corrupt) – 198 (most corrupt)

Score: 0 (highly corrupt)- 100 (very clean)

The score for Uzbekistan in 2018 took into account data from such sources as:

• Bertelsmann Foundation Transformation Index (Uzbekistan – 21)
• Economist Intelligence Unit Country rating (Uzbekistan – 20)
• Freedom House Nations in Transit Rating (Uzbekistan – 21)
• Country risk rating – Global Insight (Uzbekistan – 22)
• CPIA – World Bank (Uzbekistan – 18)
• Rule of Law Index – World Justice Project (Uzbekistan – 34)
• Annual report on democracy – project “Diversity of democracy” -V-Dem. (Uzbekistan – 23)

Eastern Europe and Central Asia including Uzbekistan are recognized by Transparency International as the second-lowest performing region, where the average score is 35 (Transparency International, 2019).  Currently, Uzbekistan with its 20 points is the 146 least corrupt out of 180 countries, according to the 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International. In comparison to 2019, Uzbekistan has enhanced its positioning by 7 ranks.

The recent years the standardization method applied by Transparency International recalculates the original scores and standardizes them according to a scale from 0 as the most corrupt to 100 as the least. The aforementioned dimensions of governance used by TI analyze almost all of the political and social aspects, reforms, challenges, rule of law, and economic stability of the state. The methodology used by all sources varies from one to another but the assessment process remains comprehensive and “large scale.” Apart from this, the Bertelsmann Foundation critically discusses the conflicts of interest in the public sector, which can create extra motives for further corruption schemes. Experts from the Bertelsmann Foundation (BF) mostly referred to the intersection of interests in the public and private sectors. Mostly, they gathered information from open sources and referred to the survey results that aim to collect data from individual experts or private-sector representatives. For example, the latest report of the BF mentions the following:

…unfortunately, the government does not use transparent and non-discriminatory criteria in evaluating requests for permits to associate and/or assemble. More often than not, groups are not able to operate free from unwarranted state intrusion or interference in their affairs. For example, the government adopted a rule in 2013 that NGOs receiving grants from international organizations or foundations must open a special bank account for those grants and a special commission must issue permission for the use of the grant. Such a measure was established as means to control NGO activities (Bertelsmann Foundation, 2018).

The Bertelsmann Transformation Index country report on Uzbekistan for 2020 highlights several times that the analyzed data is mostly taken from official state sources (Official websites and reports of Uzbekistan’s Government, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook), which means the, at least in this report, experts have referred to the most valuable and accountable data available. 

Transparency International mostly evaluates institutional and legal anti-corruption frameworks; in addition, it critically evaluates the high-corruption-risk public sectors of Uzbekistan such as healthcare, police, security and defense, education, public administration, and agriculture. Different international indices including the CPI always try to stay “objective” during the data collection, analyzing and ranking processes. The affiliation level of the legal and institutional anti-corruption reforms of any state with its positioning in the Corruption Perceptions Index depends on data from three main sources that are recognized as corruption indicators (Fakezas, Toth & King, 2016):

1. Different types of surveys related to the perception of corruption and the most widely held attitudes.
2. A critical review of the state efforts in anti-corruption policy and its existing legal and institutional frameworks.
3. A detailed version of the analyses and audits of individual cases.

The CPI, in particular, considers a very large scale of corruption “measurement”. Public policy, recent updates, and existing challenges in public-sector business dealings mostly affect state positioning on the CPI. Moreover, the report of the 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index highlights the main directions of the public sector in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) that are strongly linked to the final results or ranking. The CPI in its report on the Central Asian countries highlights that “across the region, countries experience a limited separation of powers, abuse of state resources for electoral purposes, opaque political party financing and conflicts of interest” (Transparency International, 2020). Moreover, the report states that “strong political influence over oversight institutions, insufficient judicial independence and limited press freedoms serve to create an over-concentration of power in many countries across the region”(Transparency International, 2020).

The nexus among transparency, accountability and the CPI

Transparency can make state workers more responsible in informing people about the thousands of tasks that they carry out and constantly letting them know about the status of implementation. All governments can issue hundreds of new regulations, but the most important part is implementation and control; thus, transparency could assure this. Issues of corruption and the failure to provide transparency can be seen as symptoms of a larger problem. Confidence of both government and citizens in political processes is considered to be the main imperative for the enhancement of transparency and democracy in the state. Holding government officials accountable for the decisions made by them and their actions can be reached only by providing greater transparency and openness in the public sector (Kierkegaard, 2009). In this regard, democratic processes are successful only when the government ensures transparency in its public sector and allows all citizens to actively participate in the decision-making process on policies or laws that have a direct effect on peoples’ everyday routines and lives. Considering this further, Ball claims thatonly “when citizens have information, governance improves. Transparency occurs through the support of society, government, media, and business for open decision-making” (Ball, 2009).Thereby, the important aspects of transparency in the public sector are letting people track and monitor government actions and ensuring direct public control over state policy implementation processes. Direct public control within the context of transparency means the direct participation of citizens in the policy decision-making and implementation process rather than an indirect monitor through representatives where the results only arise from democratic values (Meijer, 2013).

Uzbekistan has taken steps to actively encourage citizens and people living in the country to participate in discussions of state projects, amendments to existing legal acts, and norms. However, these initiatives should be filled in by implementing more effective “feedback” mechanisms which will account for the views of various civil society institutions and actors. For example, before conducting a general review of legal acts, the Ministry of Justice takes into consideration people’s comments on those acts and policy initiatives that are normally published in the regulations.go.uz portal. Ensuring people’s participation in discussions is a very positive experience within the scale of transparency, but it needs to be enhanced in terms of raising public awareness about this portal and ensuring the reporting by the government about the progress and results of implemented projects, policies, or laws.

Transparency and accountability in the public sector are powerful allies in any anti-corruption policy. Previously discussed practices of foreign countries with better positions on the CPI show that Uzbekistan can get better world recognition for its anti-corruption efforts by internationalizing the values aligned with citizenship and government that should be open and transparent. All these recommendations highlight the importance of people’s feeling as participants in political processes, not just as observers, but“also for the rescue of ethical values by politicians and public officials in order to generate greater confidence in the government” (Lyrio, Lunkes & Taliani, 2018). As a matter of fact, getting high ranks and better positions on the international indices on transparency and governance, including the Corruption Perceptions Index, depends on minimizing corruption problems and cases, enhancing social welfare, strengthening democracy, applying participatory prac tice and providing sufficient access to information and following accountability governance principles.

Following the previously made analyses about providing sufficient access to information regarding public-sector dealings and relying on the nineteenth recommendation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) country progress update within the third round of monitoring under the Istanbul Anti-corruption Action Plan, Uzbekistan needs to “ensure that legislation on free access to information limits discretion of officials in refusing to provide information; set precise definitions of the ‘state secret’ or other secret protected by the law; carry out campaigns to raise citizens’ awareness about their rights and responsibilities in regard to the access to information regulations. Ensure systematic training of officers who are responsible to provide information on the access to information” (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2015).

Even with the existence of a legal framework that guarantees people’s right to access to information related to the public sector, it is not practical if people’s awareness of this is low. Therefore, providing official and accountable information to the public leads to an increase of trust in the government and a possible decrease in the social phenomenon oflegal corruption. The accuracy, appropriateness, and up-to-datedness of the published information are very important to gain public trust and ensure transparent business performance in the public sector.

Concluding remarks

In this blog, I provided a critical and descriptive analysis of Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index and it’s widely used standardization method. The CPI is one of the leading corruption perception ratings in the world which shapes the business and investment attractivity of the evaluated countries within this index. The investment climate and business environment in Central Asia are shaped by the CPI at a certain point, because foreign businesses need accurate and reliable information about the region before initiating any projects and so that they approach the CPI. In fact, most of the Central Asian countries have low positioning in the CPI and it might be influenced not only by the issues related to liberalization policies or democratic challenges but also with informal legal cultures in society and high level of inter-personal networks. 

Despite the critics of the methodology, the CPI remains an actively applicable index by businesses to be applied before investing in the new destinations. Countries with developing economies, like Uzbekistan, are racing in the CPI to get better scores within their regions and attract more businesses and financial flows. However, the standardization method of the CPI is making this race to the bottom, not to the top. 

Bibliography

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Bertelsmann Foundation. Transformation Index BTI 2018 Country Report- Uzbekistan. – 2019. [online resource]URL:btiproject.org/fileadmin/files/BTI/Downloads/Reports/2018/pdf/BTI_2018_Uzbekistan.pdf 

Bevan, G., & Hood, C. (2006). “What’s measured is what matters: targets and gaming in the
English public health care system”, Public Administration, Vol. 84 No. 3.,  517-538.

European Commission Internal Market and Services. (2011). EU public procurement legislation: delivering results Summary of evaluation report.  [online resource] URL: file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/executive-summary_en.pdf

Fakezas, M., Toth, I., & King L. (2016). ‘An Objective Risk Index Using Public Procurement Data’, European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research 22 (3), 368-370 . [online resource] URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301646354_An_Objective_Corruption_Risk_Index_Using_Public_Procurement_Data 

Galtung, F. (2008). “Measuring the immeasurable: boundaries and functions of (macro)
corruption”, in Sampford / eds C., Shacklock, A., Connors, C. and Galtung, F., – Measuring Corruption, – Ashgate: Aldershot, 101-30.

Johnston, M. (2000). The New Corruption Rankings: Implications For Analysis And Reform (Department of Political Science Colgate University). [online resource] URL: <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228848458_The_New_Corruption_Rankings_Implications_for_Analysis_and_Reform> 

Kierkegaard, S. (2009). Open access to public documents—More secrecy, less transparency! Computer Law and Security Review, 25(1), 3–27. doi:10.1016/j.clsr.2008.12.001

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In this post, I would like to share my secondment experience with you. I am Dalerjon Sharipov currently doing my secondment at the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Marmara University in Istanbul for 5 months. In truth, completing an H2020 MSCA-RISE secondment is a great opportunity to experience new things in your life. And part of the secondment experience is to immerse yourself in the culture of the host organization and country.As most know, 2020 was a very difficult time. COVID-19 has left little untouched in our global society. After my arrival in Istanbul, gradually the situation with the coronavirus began to worsen more and more; curfews and other restrictions on movement began.

On December 25, 2020, 35,511 cases were registered in Turkey in 1 day.

But, despite the different limitations in our life, this situation gives us the opportunity to get to know ourselves better.

In addition to the data and results, from this experience, I have learned countless lessons and knowledge that have broadened my perspective and mind. I have learned to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, for example: Expect the unexpected and allocate time efficiently and productively.

About my article.

The current realities have shown how much the economies of the countries of the world need digital technologies and what role it plays in the life of society. What are the digital divide between developed and developing countries.

As of January 2021, there were 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide – 59.5 percent of the global population.

The digital revolution is changing the world in many aspects, and laws are undoubtedly one of the main elements in the entire system of the future digital economy. Therefore, the research, the results of which are presented in my work, is very relevant, aimed at considering the key aspects of the regulatory regulation of the digital economy in Tajikistan.

Namely: the adoption of the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On Electronic Commerce”, which supports the country’s innovative development strategy. Also, in the future, I hope for the practical application of the blockchain in the country in the provision of public services, which will require certain legislative changes. For example, the basic law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On public services” or industry-specific (for example, the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On state registration of immovable property and rights to it“). In the long term, the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On the protection of information“, the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On Information” and the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On the Protection of Personal Data” of the new concept of “Big Data”, to further determine the conditions for applying a restricted access regime to them and establish the obligations of the person processing such information to ensure its confidentiality and safety. Adoption of the relevant regulatory legal acts The Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On Competition and Restriction of Monopolistic Activity in the Product Markets” would determine the procedure for analyzing the state of competition in the product market, where the interaction of buyers and sellers occurs using trading platforms in the presence of network effects.

To attract investors, create a favourable business environment for the development of the crypto market, it is necessary, in the future, to stimulate the creation of a non-state self-regulatory organization with the support and legal guarantee from the state. Such organizations are also common in foreign legal order.

Also, in my work, a reference is made to international practice in the field of regulation of digital legal relations on the example of developed countries and the Central Asian region. In addition, I tried to consider the prospects and opportunities for foreign investment in the country’s economy through the creation of various platforms, as well as various state preferences.

The digital economy is a new subject of legal regulation and research in this area is rare. My work does not claim to be an exhaustive consideration of all issues related to the improvement of digital law in Tajikistan, which directly affect foreign investment. Therefore, I tried to consider only the most relevant mechanisms and approaches for the transformation of digital law and solutions to attract investment.

Marmara University:

Marmara University has been one of the leading institutions of higher education in Turkey for 124 years.

By the way, President of Turkey, graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences of Marmara University.

Welcoming international students as well as providing education at international standards in almost all fields, Marmara University, with its long history, had rapidly become a modern and international university which hosts and participates in scientific meetings, cultural activities, art exhibitions and sports along with various other national and international events. Marmara University is one of the few Turkish universities, which is a member of the European University Association (EUA).

Istanbul:

Much can be enumerated when talking about the merits and attractions of one of the most populated cities in the world. Everyone probably knows and has heard about the famous bazaars, about the huge mosques, palaces and squares of Istanbul. But I, nevertheless, would like to note that here are very friendly, hospitable, open and

kind people, with whom it is pleasant to find a common language. And this attitude is not only towards people, but also towards animals. And love and respect for cats is a separate topic for “conversation” =)

The cat population in Turkey was measured at approximately 3.8 million in 2019.

At the end I want to add that after more than 5 months at Marmara University, I have only words of gratitude left. I would like to thank the department for the warm welcome and the facilities provided to me. I am particularly grateful to Prof. Dr. ERHAN DOĞAN: thanks for your help and support.

And, of course, I wish all the best to all my other colleagues on their secondment trips. Try to have a positive attitude at all times and in everything!

In this post, Dr. Yolbars Kepbanov and Dr. Berdymyrat Ovezmyradov share results of a preliminary analysis on the regional state of non-hydro renewables.

The decreasing cost of renewable energy from wind and solar is a technological development with broad implications for all Central Asian economies. The share of wind and solar energy in the region remained negligible for a long time due to the abundant supply of cheap energy from fossil or hydro resources. Central Asian countries remain heavily dependent on consumption, exports, or transit of fossil fuel. While there was obvious progress in renewables elsewhere in the post-Soviet area, Central Asia until recently has not shown adequate levels of interest in developing wind and solar power. Such approach could lead to loss of opportunities in reducing electricity costs and addressing sustainability issues. The countries and investors in the region can seize the opportunities for introducing a more sustainable energy mix during the major modernization and replacement of power generating capacity expected in the coming years.

Underutilized potential

As the following figures illustrate, Central Asia has high potential for the generation of electricity from both onshore wind and sun relative to the larger parts of Eurasia. North-Western parts of Central Asia encompassing Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan in particular have a large potential for wind power. The larger part of Central Asia has a high number of sunny hours with close to annual 300 sunny days. This potential for a stable uninterrupted supply of solar power is particularly relevant for Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan – countries prone to seasonal or weather-related fluctuations in energy supply (EIU 2017). Wind and solar in Kazakhstan, solar and biogas in Uzbekistan, small hydropower in Kyrgyzstan, small hydropower and solar in Tajikistan, and solar in Turkmenistan have the higher prospects (Nabiyeva 2018). Floating solar technology tethered to the bottom of the reservoir or canal seems especially promising for Central Asia with its extensive network of irrigational channels and dams. The share of biomass in the regional energy mix is likely to remain low due to the inherent logistical challenges in collecting feedstock from vast areas.

Before 2020, Central Asian countries mostly limited non-hydro renewable actions to participation in conferences, exhibitions, declarations, and initial legislation (Marques 2018). Figure at the beginning of this post illustrates the negligible share of non-hydro renewables. Certain supporting measures (see the table) were taken, but there were few policies related to renewables in transport and heating/cooling sectors as of 2019 (REN21 Secretariat 2020). Kazakhstan seems to lead the region in new wind and solar developments (Marques 2018; Cohen 2020). But even in this leading country, the supply from installed non-hydro capacity below one percent was meager compared to the most countries in the world. Increasing interest toward renewables could also partially be motivated by the positive image and desire to follow global trends. There is even concern that the state interest in the renewables could lead to the showcase of projects that have weak relation to the real market needs (Nabiyeva 2018). Meanwhile, neighboring Russia and Ukraine implemented advanced cooperation, assessments, and large projects on a national scale. Ukraine that was traditionally reliant on hydrocarbon imports managed to increased the share of wind and solar in total energy supply almost 50-fold in the period 2010 to 2020 (IRENA 2020, IEA 2020).

Table 1: Targets and policies in Central Asian renewables as of 2019 (REN21 Secretariat 2020).

Why progress was slow

No precise studies were made on reasons for inadequate use of non-hydro renewables. The most obvious explanation is economic, technological, and political attractiveness of fossil fuel supported by its low cost, less variable output, and widespread subsidies in Central Asia (Nabiyeva 2020). Table 2 suggests consumers in Central Asia have access to the cheapest electricity in the world. And the actual cost for consumers could be even lower depending on the season, industry, market exchange rates, and quotas of nearly free electricity. Heavy government subsidies in the region undoubtedly play role distorting market prices in the region (IEA 2020). Even without the effect of subsidies, actual electricity costs based on fossil and hydro are still among the lowest in the world. In fact, so cheap is the cost of electricity ($0.01 to $0.03 per kWh from private power plants in Kazakhstan for foreign businesses) that bitcoin miners abroad considered moving to Central Asia (Redman 2020).

Table 2: Estimates of typical electricity prices in post-Soviet countries.

* Sources: GlobalPetrolPrices.com for most countries; some estimates were based on alternative sources that could be outdated: Enerdata (2020) for Uzbekistan, Gassner (2017) for Kyrgyzstan, Energypedia (2020) for Tajikistan, and local survey for Turkmenistan.

Central Asia is among the few remaining regions of the world where costs of traditional forms of energy are roughly equal or slightly lower compared to modern renewables (IRENA 2020). Meanwhile, the cost of fossil energy globally exceeds renewables for over half of recent projects (IRENA 2020). Furthermore, the estimate does not sufficiently take into account pollution, health, and other external costs of fossil. Given the ongoing decline of wind and solar costs, Central Asia cannot remain complacent with almost 100% reliance on fossil and hydropower. Prices that consumers pay in Central Asia for electricity appear below the cheapest objective measures such as LCOE using conservative estimates with cost difference of up to five times. The next figure shows comparisons of renewable cost in Central Asia based on assumption that fossil power is cheapest and non-hydro renewables are the most expensive in the region in 2019. Rather restrictive assumptions were made due to a shortage of specific project data on all Central Asian countries. However, they are further supported by the cost of existing projects in the region. For instance, the costs for solar residential systems up to 10 kW around 2018 were €1600-1800 in Kazakhstan – almost 50% more expensive than €1200-1300 in Germany. It was due to higher customs, transport, and guarantee costs relative to Europe (Nabiyeva 2018).

Policymakers in Central Asia are aware of the fact that fossil energy in the region is not only cheaper but also less variable technology that requires lower storage relative to renewables. In addition to the low cost of fossil and heavy subsidies, logistical challenges, lack of expertise, financing limitations, inadequate linkage to currency,  and opposition from the fossil industry lead to underutilized non-hydro renewables (Nabiyeva 2018). Furthermore, a conjecture can be made about other reasons such as lack of knowledge, conservative methods of costing, and lower priority of ecological problems that renewables could help solve.

Logistical challenges remain. Non-hydro renewables can still compete with fossil in limited areas. Rural, desert, and mountainous areas have underserved population in terms of energy supply. Those locations have abundant land available for renewable projects, but they often lack transmission and road infrastructure. Decentralized and autonomous solar systems that do not require transmission to remote areas could be suitable here, while wind turbine components are challenging to deliver and install in landlocked countries of Central Asia with underdeveloped infrastructure.

Lack of expertise

An issue that could hamper renewable development in Central Asia is insufficient knowledge and human resources. The region lagged behind most other areas of Eurasia in innovations and R&D output. In accounting for renewable costs, state agencies should switch to modern methods of costing projects using LCOE and other up to date techniques instead of obsolete methods that likely underestimate long-term costs of alternatives. Quantitative techniques such as SWITCH (capacity expansion model for the electricity sector) used by planners in other countries should aid decision-making in the future energy mix of the region.

The region has a history of renewable research. The reputed Sun Institute and Desert Institute within the Turkmen socialistic republic were established in Soviet-era. Experimental work on using solar and wind power for water purification in pastures within the desert was conducted since the 1970s. Such projects were limited in scale due to the high costs of solar and wind at that time. The priority of water desalination and energy supply for economy in remote areas with a decentralized network of combined solar-wind systems could become a starting point for the R&D in renewables in the region. Kazakhstan’s research and development could consider agricultural waste provided logistics, the big concern for biofuels, is cost-effective. Using cotton biomass is another perspective area for countries such as Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan where solid gin trash and on-farm cotton residues can be converted to energy. In addition to R&D, education systems of Central Asian countries would have to adapt, as they currently seem to offer little engineering and managerial training in all areas of non-hydro renewables. ADB supported launching the International Solar Energy Institute in Tashkent in 2012 (Nabiyeva 2018).

A long term solution to the issue of expertise and disadvantaged geographical location could be in local manufacturing of renewable components with direct foreign investments. This would spur the development of renewables in the region. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan with their current investment climate, scale, and resources of metals and machinery could be particularly attractive for manufacturing wind turbines. Still, all countries seem to have sufficient resources to supply energy and raw materials for manufacturing of cheap PV crystalline silicon modules for solar. The recent trend in renewable components is to move production to countries with lower costs (IRENA 2020). The Central Asian countries should provide better conditions for investors to gain the competitive advantage of hosting such manufacturing.

Foreign investment opportunities

USA, Japan, South Korea, India, neighbouring countries, and, in particular, China and countries of European Union (EU) could undoubtedly play important role in future development of non-hydro renewables in the region. Furthermore, institutional investors should be considered relevant.

China had a positive role in the development of renewables driving down costs and increasing expertise in manufacturing (The Economist 2020). Chinese companies could seem natural partners in developing renewables with their expertise and manufacturing prowess. About half of $575 billion promised under China’s Belt and Road Initiative as of 2019 is planned in energy projects, where Chinese companies such as State Grid (the world’s biggest utility) and Three Gorges will invest more in renewables abroad (The Economist 2020). State-backed Chinese investors could be considered among the first in large-scale projects by governments in Central Asia. At the same time, the governments should exercise caution in negotiating terms of agreements with Chinese businesses to avoid excessive dependence on single big partner, heavy debt burden, inadequate feasibility studies, and other difficulties that some developing countries involved in the massive Belt and Road Initiative already experienced.

Various organizations in the EU have expertise and resources to play a more active role in Central Asian renewables. European companies are highly competitive in renewables such as wind technology and sales on the global level. The European-level support has provided a market for Siemens Gamesa (the world’s top wind turbine manufacturers), Enel (the largest investor in wind and solar in developing countries), Orsted (world’s top developer of offshore wind-based in Denmark), Iberdrola (Spain), Electricité de France and Engie (France), and other global leaders in renewables (The Economist 2020). EU funding within Horizon Europe and other frameworks could greatly facilitate renewable developments.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and other influential institutional investors in Central Asian economies could contribute to the shift in the region to sustainable post-pandemic growth now that governments of the Central Asian countries face socio-economic uncertainty. EBRD, the largest institutional investor in Central Asia, prioritizes transition and promotion to green energy in Kazakstan and Uzbekistan. The World Bank Group Scaling Solar Program offers funding for the region. Implementation of renewables projects with high standards of social responsibility and sustainable growth would could achieve a win-win situation of getting much-needed investments but without compromising on sustainability goals for the populations of the countries and the international partners.

Conclusions

The world will undoubtedly continue efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuel by expanding the share of wind and solar renewables. The commodity-exporting countries of Central Asia need to reassess the impact of non-hydro renewables. Coal, gas, and hydropower remained the major sources of energy in Central Asia. Unfortunately, the volume of coal-generated energy was expanding in the region. Many power plants in the region need replacement in the near future. This is the right time to better realize potential for non-hydro renewables that was not done previously due to economic reasons. Taken as a region, Central Asia has a high potential for onshore wind and sun. Not only will the expansion of renewables instead of fossil fuel capacity reduce the cost of energy mix; it will also have multiple benefits for ecology, emission targets, wider distribution, security, and resilience of electricity supply. The role of foreign partners is important for the development of renewables in Central Asia. Global investors should work with private and public sectors in the region to ensure high standards of transparency and sustainability. In particular, they could favour distributed low-cost solar that benefits individual consumers and small businesses in rural and other underprivileged areas. Legal and other support should be encouraged in international agreements to support vulnerable populations and other target beneficiaries with policies such as feed-in tariffs.

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