Enhancing sectoral competitiveness in Kazakhstan

Following the global economic crisis, Kazakhstan initiated extensive industrial development and innovation programmes with the aim of enhancing overall productivity and decreasing dependence on growth in extractive sectors. Since their initiation in 2010, the country has made some progress in terms of productivity improvements within non-resource sectors and boosting employment in manufacturing and some knowledge- and information-intensive services.This chapter studies trends in Kazakhstan’s competitive stance in different sectors and identifies enabling and constraining factors for competitiveness in the future. Based on past trends, it highlights the risk in Kazakhstan of a slower diversification process if resource sectors were to experience another boom. While recent economic reform efforts have been fruitful for Kazakhstan’s competitive stance and diversification, implementation, co-ordination between policies, and regulatory burdens remain challenges. Moreover, facilitating access to external financing will support investment and private sector development. The government has put in place a strategy and the related institutions to develop a highly qualified workforce with adaptable and more practical skills. The actual implementation of this strategy, and reaching sufficient scope for the various programmes, will be essential. Finally, enhancing innovation capabilities, particularly through augmented leveraging of information and communications technologies (ICTs) and related services, is a fundamental requirement for Kazakhstan’s competitiveness and greening of the economy in the future.