Graduate School of Public Policy

Last year Assistant Professor of the Graduate School of Public Policy of Nazarbayev University Dina Sharipova and her colleagues from KIMEP University – Assistant Professor Alma Sharipova and Assistant Professor Alma Kudebayeva published an article on the topic “Social Capital and Subjective Well-Being in Central Asia.” This article examines how social capital influences subjective well-being (SWB) in three Central Asian states —Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.

According to the World Values ​​Survey (WVS), more people in Uzbekistan are satisfied with their lives, followed by Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. This fact is partly explained by the results of recent research on well-being, that demonstrated that economic growth and wealth are not necessarily correlated with well-being in the long run. Many policymakers, economists, and political scientists seek to examine what other factors contribute to better (or poorer) population well-being. Understanding what determines well-being sheds light on what governments should do to improve people’s life satisfaction.

The authors of the study argue that perceptions of well-being can be influenced by different aspects of social capital, such as trust, norms, and social participation. The influence of these aspects can be determined through the prism of sociocultural differences and different levels of national and economic development of countries. The countries of Central Asia belong to the same region and are ex-Soviet republics with similar political, social, and cultural characteristics. However, after the breakup of the USSR, the three states followed different political and economic trajectories. Kyrgyzstan has developed a relatively open society, while Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are closed political systems. In terms of economic development, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan feature market economies, while Uzbekistan, until recently, had a state-regulated economy. Understanding these contextual distinctions is important as they mean that social capital has a different effect on people’s subjective well-being.

The results of the research showed that the more people follow social norms in Kazakhstan, the more they are satisfied with their lives. Other variables are also important: higher levels of income, better health, more freedom of choice over one’s own life and more children are positively associated with life satisfaction. The data for Kyrgyzstan showed some similar results to those for Kazakhstan, but with some differences. The authors concluded that trust has a very strong positive effect on well-being in Kyrgyzstan. In Uzbekistan social participation in civil society organisations contributes to higher levels of subjective well-being. The more people are involved in various networks, the more likely they are to experience satisfaction with life there.

To read full article go to the link.

Dina Sharipova is Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy at Nazarbayev University. She received her PhD in Political Science from Indiana University in 2013. In 2013-2018 she worked as a lecturer at KIMEP University and was a member of the Council of the European Society for the Study of Central Asia. The scientific interests of D. Sharipova are related to issues of identity, security, as well as institutions in the CAR.

Currently, D. Sharipova is a member of the editorial board of the academic journal Central Asian Survey. In 2018, she released the book “State-building in Kazakhstan: Continuity and Transformation of Informal Institutions,” which was published by Lexington Books Publisher in the United States. Articles by D. Sharipova are also published in international journals such as Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Central Asian Survey, Nationalities Paper, etc.