1. ¹CERGE-EI and ROSES, PO Box 882, Politickych veznu 7, 111 21 Prague, Czech Republic. E-mail: Jan.Babeckij@cerge-ei.cz
2. ²The World Bank, 1818 H street, 20433, USA. E-mail: akolev@worldbank.org
3. ³ROSES-CNRS and CEPR, Maison des Sciences Economiques, 106-112 Bd de l'Hôpital, 75647 Paris Cedex 13, France. E-mail: maurelm@univ-paris1.fr

Abstract

The persistence of widespread poverty in the Kyrgyz Republic seems to be due to the presence of a large pool of jobless and discouraged workers, as well as to the low level of formal job creation. This has prevented informal jobholders from moving from a situation of mere survival into a better economic position. Addressing the problem of low formal job creation requires removing the many institutional barriers that prevent the development of small and medium enterprises in the country.