Thesis Topic: Party system and Demographic change in Kazakhstan
Thesis Advisor: Professor Riccardo Pelizzo
Research Summary: I examine the impact of perceived activities of the youth wing and youth quota on voting for a political party. My research has been based on a mixed research method that includes youth online surveys and semi-structured interviews with deputies of the Maslikhats, Mazhilis and Senate Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan. I conducted online surveys in 17 regions and 3 cities of Kazakhstan. My interests include study of the party, party systems measures, change and stability of party systems.
Education: LLM Commercial and corporate law, Queen Mary University of London (United Kingdom)
Nationality: Kazakhstan
Thesis Topic: Public Service Motivation, Loyalty and Voice of civil sevants in Kazakhstan
Thesis Advisor: Professor Riccardo Pelizzo
Research Summary: The purpose of the research is to integrate two prominent theories of Public service motivation (Perry, 1990) and Exit, voice, and loyalty (Hirschman, 1970), arguing that the two theories are complementary and, when combined, show a more accurate picture. The main focus of the study is the Kazakh civil service. The integration of both theories helps explain civil servants' retention strategies, addressing the serious problem of high employee turnover, especially given the comparatively limited opportunities in the public sector compared to the private sector. The study reconstructs and revitalizes Hirschman's concept by providing a comprehensive overview of the current state of voice and loyalty in the Kazakh civil service. Moreover, since much of the research has focused on Western countries, an important contribution of the study is to extend this body of knowledge to non-Western societies.
Education: MSc in Public Management and Governance, London School of Economics and Political Science (United Kingdom); MSc in Public and Local Administration, Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Nationality: Kazakhstan
Thesis Topic: Regulatory Impact Assessment in Kazakhstan, Russia and Georgia—Policy Learning and Policy Capacity Cases
Thesis Advisor: Associate Professor Peter Howie
Research Summary: This research explores a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) tool through the prism of policy learning and policy capacities in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Georgia. The thesis investigates the implementation gap, scrutinizes the policy learning processes, and assesses the factors contributing to successful RIA implementation. By employing a mixed-methods approach, a scorecard, and process tracing, the study aims to unravel administrative, economic, political, and cultural challenges. The thesis provides valuable insights for decision-makers and experts on improving RIA for evidence-based policymaking and good governance.
Education: MA in Public Policy and Administration, University of Minnesota (United States)
Nationality: Kazakhstan
Thesis Topic: Exploring Barriers to Utilization of Maternal Healthcare Services in Tanzania
Thesis Advisor: Professor Riccardo Pelizzo
Research Summary: My research investigates barriers to accessing and utilizing maternal healthcare services in Tanzania using a mixed-method approach. The study aims to uncover both supply and demand determinants affecting access, explore the influence of maternal healthcare availability on fertility intentions and contraception, and assess the impact of cultural beliefs on service utilization. Through a comprehensive analysis, this research aims to contribute valuable insights into improving maternal healthcare accessibility and addressing related challenges in Tanzania
Education: Master's in Economics, University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)
Nationality: Tanzania
Thesis Topic: Public Trust and COVID-19 Vaccination in Kazakhstan
Thesis Advisor: Associate Professor Dina Sharipova, Visiting Professor Kai Hong Phua
Research Summary: My project explores the role of trust in COVID-19 vaccination in Kazakhstan from 2020 to 2022 through discourse analysis, content analysis of social media, secondary quantitative data analysis, and observations. The research reveals that trust plays a crucial role in shaping attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination, influenced by communication of representatives of government and healthcare institutions. Social media has a significant impact on trust, based on information reliability, with anti-vaccination groups challenging official narratives. Public perception is shaped by the consequences of vaccination, including adverse events after immunisation and sickness with COVID-19. The study emphasises the critical role of trust, effective communication, and reliable information in successful vaccination campaigns in Kazakhstan and globally.
Education: MSc International Health, University of Leeds (United Kingdom)
Nationality: Kazakhstan
Thesis Topic: Water planning and ecosystem services in river basins of Kazakhstan
Thesis Advisor: Adjunct Associate Professor Stefanos Xenarios, Associate Professor Murodbek Laldjebaev
Research Summary: This research aims to enhance water planning in Kazakhstan by introducing an ecosystem-based approach, tracing the evolution of the country's water management policies post-1990. Despite Kazakhstan's emphasis on environmental regulations and integrating ecological considerations into water resource management, implementation faces challenges such as limited financial resources and technology access. This research thoroughly examines ecosystem services valuation methods in Central Asia, with a particular focus on Kazakhstan. The Astana Reservoir case study in the research, utilizing the Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting methodology, serves as the country's first pilot project, offering practical insights and a potential model for similar approaches in other developing nations. The application of tools like ARIES for ecosystem services valuation holds significant importance for enhancing water resource management in Central Asia.
Education: Master in Public Administration, Nanjing University (China)
Nationality: Kazakhstan
Thesis Topic: Innovating Across Kazakhstan and China: Understanding the Cross Border Regional Innovation System
Thesis Advisor: Associate Professor Serik Orazgaliyev
Research Summary: This thesis aims to provide a comprehensive exploration to the question: how does policy change shape the interactions of actors and thereby affect the cross-border integration? To address this question, it focuses on the "Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)" as a significant policy change affecting the Kazakhstan-China borderlands, analyzing its repercussions on cross-border integration. The objectives of this thesis are to (1) identify the actors and action situation involved in the Kazakhstan-China borderlands integration, (2) explore the factors that contributing to the integration process by implementing the BRI, a major identified policy change, (3) identify the interaction patterns that generated by the BRI’s implementation for promoting integration, and (4) analyze the outcomes that BRI brings to the cross-border integration process. To achieve these goals, this thesis proposes a framework that integrates the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework and the proximity literature. The integrated framework is then employed to the Kazakhstan-China borderlands using qualitative research methods to analyze the BRI's impact on the integration process.
Education: M.A. in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel)
Nationality: China
Thesis Topic: Kazakhstan emission trading scheme: Monitoring, Reporting and Verification
Thesis Advisor: Associate Professor Peter Howie
Research Summary: Kazakhstan launched its emission trading scheme in 2013 as a policy tool to regulate carbon emissions and achieve the country’s commitment under the Paris Agreement. However, the effectiveness of KazETS in decreasing the emission footprint of the country is low. Scholars explain that one of the reasons for such an outcome of Kazakhstan’s ETS is the weak measurement, ratification, and verification system (MRV) and its non-compliance with international standards. MRV is a form of regulation requiring information disclosure on carbon production based on which carbon allowances are calculated and it directly presents transparency systems main aim of which is changing the emission behavior of regulated companies. Therefore the MRV system plays a crucial role in the functioning of ETS to effectively reduce carbon emissions of the country. My research area is MRV in KazETS with the purpose to explain why the MRV system is weak in Kazakhstan’s ETS by applying theoretical frameworks of transparency.
Education: Master of Arts in Economics, KIMEP (Kazakhstan)
Nationality: Kazakhstan
Thesis Topic: Behavioral interventions to combat corruption. An experimental study
Thesis Advisor: Associate Professor Omer Baris
Research Summary: Despite the various measures taken, numerous countries still suffer from endemic corruption and its consequences. In this study, I propose behavioral nudges as effective complementary tools to deter corruption. Specifically, I demonstrate that commitment nudge and moral warning reduce the likelihood of cheating in a stylized online experiment. Hence, I argue that the behavioral approach offers fertile ground for the development of new policy instruments for curbing corruption that complement traditional anti-corruption policies.
Education: Master of Arts in Economics, Nazarbayev University (Kazakhstan)
Nationality: Kazakhstan
Thesis Topic: Process tracing the implementation gap of environmental information disclosure in mining environment mitigation policies; Case of Tanzania
Thesis Advisor: Professor Riccardo Pelizzo
Research Summary: Disclosing environmental information in natural resource extraction is crucial for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 12 (Sustainable Consumption and Production Pattern). By applying the explicit Bayesian analytical framework, the dissertation project seeks to find empirical evidence of the causal-effect analysis of the three rival hypotheses on effective policy implementation - Hierarchy governance, political regime, and consultative policy formulation explains how environmental governance and reporting affect the outcome of environmental management policy objectives (Information disclosure). The implementation gap in environmental information disclosure (EID) in Tanzania’s mining sector is used as a case study to explore this causal mechanism. The proposed hypothesis being tested is that the process leading to this policy outcome is triggered by the government's adoption of complementary instruments, which leads to challenges for the government in maintaining a collaborative governance structure with the conditions for sharing the regulatory burden.
Education: Msc Petroleum, Energy Economics and Finance, University of Aberdeen (United Kingdom)
Nationality: Tanzania
Thesis Topic: Compliance with Crisis Policies
Thesis Advisor: Professor Noore Alam Siddiquee, Associate Professor Murodbek Laldjebaev
Research Summary: My thesis aims to explain the variation in public policy compliance during crises. Theoretically, I am working on the validity of the Multiple Streams Framework beyond Agenda Setting to see whether it can apply to the policy implementation stage. It involves studying the changes in public, policy, and problem streams to assess their effect on policy compliance. I am also interested in the philosophy of social science and the relevance of ontological and epistemological assumptions used by latent research for new types of datasets (e.g., GPS mobility data, opinion mining from social networks) to understand whether it can provide a better explanation of the social phenomenon.
Education: Master in Political Science and International Relations, Nazarbayev University (Kazakhstan)
Nationality: Pakistan