Changing Well-Being in Central Asia: Evidence from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

Dina Sharipova; Alma Kudebayeva

doi:10.1007/s10902-022-00607-1

Changing Well-Being in Central Asia: Evidence from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

J Happiness Stud. 2023;24(3):1233-1260. doi: 10.1007/s10902-022-00607-1. Epub 2023 Mar 12.

Authors

Dina Sharipova¹, Alma Kudebayeva²

Affiliations

¹ Graduate School of Public Policy, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan.
² Department of Economics, KIMEP University, CERGE-EI Teaching Fellow , Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Abstract

This article explains the puzzle why subjective well-being (SBW) declined in Kazakhstan and increased in Kyrgyzstan from 2011 to 2018. It examined the predictors of the change in SWB in two Central Asian states over this period. We found that freedom of choice and financial satisfaction are powerful factors that predict the change in SWB in the two states. In addition, we observed that SWB has changed differently for various social groups. In Kazakhstan SWB has increased for financially satisfied people and it has diminished for the financially dissatisfied people. In Kyrgyzstan, for both groups we observe the increase in life satisfaction. These results show that even within one state the change in SWB might vary from one group to another. As such, scholars should disaggregate various factors to understand a more nuanced dynamics of life satisfaction over time. In addition, the differences in economic and political contexts are important.

Keywords: Central Asia; Development; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Subjective well-being.

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