Characteristics of the Labor Market and Human Resources Management in the Republic of Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan, an emerging economy moving from a communist centralized command approach to global market participation, shares issues with other republics in the Common Wealth of Independent States. Competitive advantages that bode well for its successful transition include abundant oil reserves, a developing legal system, and a government that appears to have learned from the mistakes of other CIS nations. However, the Republic has serious problems of population decline, poor infrastructure, and workforce habits incompatible with a market economy. This paper focuses on labor market and human resource issues that must be addressed of Kazakhstan to be competitive in the world areas. This paper focuses on the economic and human changes in the republic of Kazakhstan since its 1991 independence and assesses the country\u27s potential for competitiveness in the global economy. Developing human resources is essential to achieve sustainable competitive advantage (Hoskisson, et al., 2000; Soulsby & Clark, 1996) so we will pay particular attention to Kazakhstan\u27s workforce as a key to the country\u27s competitiveness. Although there is variation in the way the CIS countries have adopted to a market-driven economy, the Republic of Kazakhstan is an interesting case study of the process. The information is enhanced by the fact that much of the history described was experienced first-hand by one of the authors

Labor Migration Challenges in Economic Planning: A Case Study of Astana

The end of the cold war removed a major barrier against free trade and consequently, globalization of business spread economic developments around the world, created job opportunities, particularly in industrial sectors, which led to migration of many people who were in search of a better life. Newly independent countries have emerged and many have been, or are in the process of, integrating into various trade packs of the free market system. This labor migration has taken place at various levels. This work studies the attributes of domestic migration and the challenges it has created for economic and urban planning. The article outlines the results of a study conducted to understand the migration patterns into the newly established capital city of Kazakhstan, Astana, for planning purposes

Migrants to Astana, the New Capital City of Kazakhstan

This paper discusses a research that deals with the pattern of labor migration into Astana. The research was to be used by the Kazakhstan policy-makers. The results, however, are very useful for the purpose of comparison with the patterns of labor migration into other cities which were constructed to serve as capital cities. Astana has fulfilled all expectations, but the problems of the new city could be a challenge for planners and policy-makers for year to come