Azimzhan Khitakhunov
Senior Research fellow
Azimzhan Khitakhunov is a research fellow at the Eurasian Research Institute. He has received his bachelor, master and Ph.D. degrees from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (Ph.D. degree was completed in cooperation with the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies, Bologna, Italy). Currently, he is a senior lecturer at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Higher School of Economics and Business, Economics Department, where he teaches macroeconomics related disciplines. His research experience includes participation as a research fellow in the government financed f
Staff's Publications
November 22, 2021
Agriculture remains a key sector for Central Asian economies in terms of food security, employment, and trade. In 2019, employment in agriculture (as % of total employment) in Central Asian countries remained high and varied from the lowest 15% in Kazakhstan to the highest 45% in Tajikistan. In terms of […]
November 22, 2021
The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is one of the recent regional trade agreements. Despite the idea of Eurasian integration has a long history and was proposed by the first President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev in the early 1990-s, Kazakhstan together with Belarus and Russia formed a customs union only in […]
October 4, 2021
Food prices are one of the most important indicators, which play an important role in economic and political stability. Food prices depend on a variety of factors, including growth in demand (mainly from Asian countries), financial market speculations, export restrictions, weather shocks, productivity slow-down, currency depreciation, rising oil prices, biofuels […]
September 27, 2021
Transport and infrastructure play an important role in Uzbekistan’s economy. Implementation of the open economic policy requires the penetration of new markets. Uzbekistan aims to diversify its exports. Besides traditional markets such as Central Asia and Russia, the country increases its supplies to China, the countries of Europe, and Turkey. […]
August 27, 2021
High-quality infrastructure remains critical for economic growth and international trade. Hard and soft infrastructure, effective customs regulation, including digitization of customs procedures are important for boosting trade indicators. Therefore, this commentary aims to analyze recent developments in infrastructure and trade facilitation in the Eurasian region, reveal its problems and provide […]
July 28, 2021
International trade plays a crucial role for Uzbekistan. The country has been one of the most important suppliers of agricultural products, including cotton, fruits, and vegetables. Since independence, Uzbekistan started to conduct gradual reforms. Import-substitution policy with strong protection of the internal market were the features of the country’s economy. […]
June 8, 2021
Many developing countries in the Eurasian region are in search of economic growth drivers. The previous growth models mainly based on fuel exports can no longer guarantee sustainable development due to ongoing structural transformations in the global economy. Renewable energy investments demonstrate high growth rates. Gradual substitution of traditional energy […]
May 11, 2021
Climate change remains one of the most important challenges and threats for humanity. It has substantial economic costs. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are externalities and represent the biggest market failure the world has seen [Stern, 2008]. Negative impacts of climate change vary across different sectors. Agriculture remains one of the […]
April 17, 2021
Renewable energy development is one of the key priorities for both developed and developing countries. Many studies focus on renewable energy-climate interaction [Jones and Warner, 2016]. At the same time, benefits from renewable energy development are wide. They vary from job creation to its positive contribution to economic growth. Renewable […]
April 11, 2021
International trade plays an important role in Turkey’s economy. Export remains a significant source of revenue for the country. Turkey is an important supplier of agricultural, manufacturing and technological products to the global market. Therefore, this commentary aims to analyze the dynamics of Turkey’s foreign trade, show its key trade […]