Visually-Impaired Version 
| Project Title | Implementation Period | Brief Description | Key Results/ Publications |
| Evaluation of Technology Commercialization Factors in Kazakhstan. | 2024 | This paper analyzes factors affecting R&D commercialization in Kazakhstan using time series and VAR methods on national statistics data. It finds that innovation activity and patents boost exports after three years, but also lead to trade-offs like reduced GDP share and later declines in patenting. The study suggests Kazakhstani firms prioritize short-term export gains over long-term innovation, recommending policies to better balance profit motives with sustainable innovation. | Link |
| The Interplay Between Religion, Traditional Beliefs, and Socio-Economic Development: Insights from Four Emerging Economies. | 2024 | This article explores the relationship between traditional beliefs, socio-economic development, and religion in four emerging economies: Benin, Indonesia, Tanzania, and Togo. The study addresses gaps in existing literature, which has not conclusively determined whether and to what extent socio-economic development reduces the prevalence of traditional beliefs. Additionally, the interplay between religion and traditional beliefs remains debated, with some studies suggesting coexistence while others highlight inherent conflicts. The findings reveal that the impact of socio-economic development on traditional beliefs varies significantly across different types of beliefs. From an Islamic law perspective, practices such as witchcraft and superstition are condemned as shirk (polytheism) for diverting reliance away from Allah. Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) and principles like maqasid al-shariah (objectives of Sharia) provide frameworks to counter these practices by promoting rationality, education, and monotheism. In Indonesia, for instance, Islamic principles have allowed traditional healing practices to coexist with modernity within an ethical framework aligned with Sharia. Conversely, in regions with smaller Muslim populations, such as Benin and Togo, traditional beliefs remain widespread and are often intertwined with animism and other non-Islamic faiths. The study also finds that religious demography significantly influences the persistence of some traditional beliefs but not others. Finally, it highlights a strong correlation between the popularity of traditional beliefs and the prominence of traditional religions within societies. | Link |
| Sustainable Business Models for Advancing the Electric Vehicle Industry in Kazakhstan: A review | 2024 | This study explores the potential of sustainable business models in advancing the electric vehicle (EV) industry in Kazakhstan. It reviews existing literature on EV and sustainability models, evaluating their relevance to Kazakhstan’s context. The findings highlight how such models can support both economic growth and environmental goals by reducing fossil fuel dependence. | Link |
| OVERVIEW OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES: INSIGHTS FROM THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN. | 2024 | This paper outlines strategies for sustainable tourism development, using Kazakhstan as a case study. By analyzing existing literature and real-world data, it assesses the suitability of various approaches within the Kazakh context. The findings highlight key challenges and opportunities for sustainable tourism in the country, contributing to broader discussions on effective tourism strategies. | Link |
| Smart Governance in Kazakhstan: A Systematic Review and Analysis of Development, Challenges, and Future Directions | 2024 | This paper analyzes Kazakhstan’s gradual adoption of smart governance practices, focusing on their impact on government operations, citizen engagement, transparency, and data security. By reviewing recent literature, it evaluates the country’s digital infrastructure development and alignment with global governance standards. The study highlights both progress and challenges, offering practical recommendations to enhance Kazakhstan’s smart governance and support its sustainable development goals. | Link |
| Evaluation of the Effectiveness of technology Commercialisation in the Republic of Kazakhstan under international methodology. | 2024 | This paper addresses the need for a unified system to assess the effectiveness of commercialising scientific developments in Kazakhstan. Through a comparative analysis of international practices, particularly the ATTP methodology, the study identifies gaps in Kazakhstan’s current approach and offers recommendations to align it with global standards. The findings highlight the challenges posed by limited data and propose steps to establish a comprehensive, standardized evaluation system to support innovation-driven economic growth. | Link |
| Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment and inequalities: a systematic review of international evidence and critical appraisal of statistical methods. | 2024 | This review assessed how COVID-19 affected labour market outcomes, focusing on differences over time and across groups. Using 85 studies from databases and grey literature, researchers found generally negative effects on employment, hours, and income—especially for women, younger, less educated, and non-white workers. These groups were more exposed due to job types requiring personal contact and limited remote work options. The review also highlighted methodological challenges like the lack of control groups. Long-term effects, especially in low- and middle-income countries, need further study. | Link |
| Elite schools and educational inequality: Evidence from a private university in Kazakhstan. | 2024 | This study explores how elite secondary schools in Kazakhstan, created through neoliberal education reforms, contribute to inequality. Using a mixed-methods approach, it finds that graduates of well-funded elite public schools outperform peers from mainstream schools at university. While these schools offer better resources and focus on soft skills, they limit access to disadvantaged students, reinforcing educational and later economic inequalities. The findings highlight how market-driven reforms have deepened inequality in post-Soviet education systems, raising concerns about the equity of public funding policies. | Link |
| Witchcraft beliefs and conspiracy theorizing: Evidence from Tanzania and cross‐national datasets. | 2024 | This article suggests that since people who believe in magic and those who believe in conspiracy theories produce meaning and make sense of the world by engaging in the same process of signification, they should be more likely to have one such belief if they hold the other. To test this proposition, we perform both macro- and micro-level analyses using, respectively, cross-national datasets and an original set of Tanzanian data. Our findings from both sets of analyses reveal a strong association between witchcraft beliefs and the belief in conspiracy theories. | Link |
| Tax motivated vertical FDI and transfer pricing. | 2024 | This study analyzes how a domestic downstream firm’s acquisition of a foreign input supplier enables profit shifting through transfer pricing. Setting a high transfer price lowers tax liabilities but raises input costs, reducing domestic output and profits. The optimal transfer price balances tax savings and production efficiency. Regulation under the arm’s length principle lowers transfer prices, reducing distortions and enhancing consumer and social welfare. Increased downstream competition further aligns private incentives with social welfare, strengthening regulatory benefits. | Link |
| Dynamics of Gender Wage Gap in Kazakhstan for 2011-2019 | 2024 | This study analyzes the gender wage gap in Kazakhstan from 2011 to 2019, finding it persistently around 30%. Decomposition reveals that increasing industrial segregation worsens the gap, despite women’s relatively better and improving human capital. The gap is highest in industrialized, economically advanced regions and lowest in poorer, agricultural ones. In major cities, evidence of vertical segregation and discrimination is found. Effective policy should address industrial and regional disparities to reduce gender inequality in the labour market. | Link |
| Impact of the Ruble exchange rate regime and Russia’s war in Ukraine on wheat prices in Russia | 2024 | This study examines exchange rate pass-through to Russian wheat prices before and after the Ruble became free-floating in 2014. Results show strong pass-through in the North Caucasus and weak effects in remote regions. Under the managed exchange rate, no cointegration is found between wheat prices and the Ruble/USD rate. Feed wheat is less integrated with global markets than higher-quality wheat. Since the Ukraine invasion, pass-through has declined sharply, indicating growing disconnection from international markets and increased supply chain and geopolitical risks. Diversifying import sources is advised to enhance trade resilience. | Link |
| Traditional Beliefs and Electoral Behavior in Indonesia. | 2023 | This study examines how traditional beliefs influence electoral behavior in Indonesia’s increasingly fragmented and democratizing political system. Unlike the limited existing research—mostly focused on stable systems like Togo and lacking micro-level quantitative analysis—this study uses original survey data to statistically assess the impact of traditional beliefs on voter choice. Findings show that voters with traditional mindsets are more likely to support secular parties within the ruling coalition. | Link |
| Progression of frailty as measured by a cumulative deficit index: a systematic review | 2023 | This systematic review synthesizes evidence on frailty progression among community-dwelling older adults using a cumulative deficit model. Based on 61 studies, it finds that frailty typically worsens over time, especially among older individuals and those with chronic conditions, low income or education, smoking, or obesity. Age is the strongest predictor of frailty progression and mortality. The frailty index effectively predicts adverse outcomes and death, though cross-cohort comparisons are limited by inconsistent definitions and measurements. | Link |
| Prospects for Wood Pellet Production in Kazakhstan: A Case Study on Business Model Adjustment. | 2023 | This study explores the potential for wood pellet production in Kazakhstan by examining how a microenterprise adapts its business model in the wood industry. Using Osterwalder’s business model canvas and a qualitative case study, it analyzes how value is proposed, created, delivered, and captured. Kazakhstan’s strong biomass potential offers opportunities for microenterprises to provide local, renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. While growth in wood-based industries and support for renewables are promising, the sector faces significant institutional and regulatory challenges. | Link |
| Political Stability, Confidence in the Future, and Values. | 2023 | This paper revisits the link between modernization and cultural change, focusing on shifts toward emancipative and secular-rational values. Unlike prior studies that rely mainly on material indicators, it introduces non-material factors—such as fears about economic and political stability—into the analysis. Using individual- and aggregate-level data from the World Values Survey, the study finds that concerns over political system stability are the strongest predictor of value change, highlighting the central role of psychological and social perceptions in cultural transformation. | Link |
| Traditional Beliefs and Electoral Behavior: Some Evidence from Togo | 2023 | This study explores the link between traditional beliefs and party system stability, highlighting an often-overlooked factor in electoral behavior research. Using evidence from Togo, it finds that individuals who hold traditional beliefs are more likely to support ruling parties, contributing to party system stability. These voters are not merely less democratic in orientation but actively reinforce existing political structures. The findings suggest that traditional beliefs play a significant role in shaping electoral outcomes and maintaining stable party systems. | Link |
| Beyond Religion: Superstition, Traditional Beliefs, and the Extreme Right. | 2023 | This study examines the political implications of superstitious beliefs in Germany, an industrialized country in the Global North. Using data from the 2019 German General Social Survey, it finds that individuals with superstitious beliefs exhibit lower trust in the political system and are more likely to hold revisionist and antisemitic views. These attitudes may increase support for right-wing populist parties. The findings suggest that even in advanced democracies, the spread of superstitious beliefs can have destabilizing political effects, raising concerns for policymakers and democratic institutions. | Link |
| Traditional Practices and Support for the Strongman. | 2023 | This study investigates how traditional values influence authoritarian attitudes among Muslim respondents in 27 jurisdictions. Findings show that individuals who view traditional practices—such as sorcery, jinn, or ancestor spirits—as acceptable under Islam are more likely to support strongman rule over democracy. Interestingly, religiosity itself does not significantly predict authoritarian preferences, suggesting that traditionality, rather than religious devotion, is a stronger driver of anti-democratic attitudes. These results underscore the political relevance of traditional beliefs and call for more precise measures of traditionality in future research. | Link |
| Modernization, Superstition, and Cultural Change. | 2023 | This article examines the link between socioeconomic development, secularism, and traditional beliefs. While some practices—like using traditional healers—are negatively associated with development indicators, others, such as belief in or encounters with jinn, show little to no statistical relationship. The findings support Inglehart and Baker’s argument that the influence of development on cultural values is complex and non-linear. | Link |
| University selectivity and returns premium: evidence from Kazakhstan. | 2022 | This study uses a fuzzy regression discontinuity design to examine whether attending more selective, better-funded national universities in Kazakhstan leads to higher entry salaries compared to other public HEIs. Findings show no significant difference in returns during the first year of employment, suggesting that observed advantages may largely reflect selectivity rather than institutional quality, and calling into question related policy assumptions. | Link |
| Why estimation alone causes Markowitz portfolio selection to fail and what we might do about it | 2022 | Markowitz optimization often performs poorly in practice, even under ideal conditions such as normally distributed returns and the use of shrinkage estimators. This is largely due to the difficulty in confidently distinguishing between the mean returns of most assets. To address this, the study proposes a method based on a sequentially rejective test to identify subsets of assets with indistinguishable means or variances. Compared to naive Markowitz and other approaches like bootstrap aggregation, the method proves more robust and outperforms equally weighted portfolios in out-of-sample and bootstrap tests using data from market indices and hedge funds. Covariance shrinkage is also found to enhance performance. | Link |
| Returns to schooling in Kazakhstan: an update using a pseudo-panel approach. | 2020 | This paper represents the first attempt to employ a long series of repeated cross-sectional data from the Kazakhstani National Statistics as the pseudo-panel for estimating returns to schooling. We found the returns to be relatively high and internationally comparable. The cohort effect turned out to be negative, suggesting the interpretation of the business cycle’s impact. The gender gap in returns has additionally been revealed: while females tend to earn less, the returns are higher for them, which can likely be explained by gender differences in labor allocation across sectors and industries and, in turn, explains the higher levels of education amongst women | Link |
