Trade openness did not reduce poverty in Uzbekistan — UN

According to a new study conducted by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), between 1995 and 2019, the growth of foreign trade in Uzbekistan did not coincide with a decrease in the poverty rate. According to the data presented in the working paper "Re-examining the Link Between Trade and Poverty in Developing Countries," the correlation coefficients between trade openness and poverty in Uzbekistan are positive, which means that as the share of foreign trade in GDP increases, the share of the population living below the poverty line also remains high. The authors of the report emphasize that trade is necessary but not sufficient to reduce poverty. The potential impact depends more on the quality of institutions, the level of education, the degree of urbanization, and the effectiveness of public administration. In general, in developing countries, higher dependence of the economy on trade is associated with lower poverty. However, in some countries like Uzbekistan, this effect is not yet noticeable, due to structural constraints and uneven distribution of benefits from trade. Read “Zamin” on Telegram!