CAREC Institute Presents about Development Vectors in the CAREC Region

On November 25, Dr. Hans Holzhacker, Chief Economist of the CAREC Institute, spoke at the International Scientific and Practical Conference “Economic Transformation of Kazakhstan in the World Geopolitical Crisis”. The conference was organized by the Kazakhstan Institute of Economics on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the institute in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The Institute of Economics was established in 1952 within the system of the Academy of Sciences. During the 70 years of its existence, the institute made many fundamental contributions to the solving of theoretical and practical problems of macro- and regional economics, the economy of the oil and gas industry, and the transformation of industrial and socio-economic relations.

Dr. Hans Holzhacker made a presentation on “Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in the CAREC Region: Situation and Development Vectors”. He elaborated that the CAREC region has largely overcome the COVID-19 recession of 2020 but that new challenges are brought by tectonic shifts in geoeconomics, inflation, and climate change. Countries in the CAREC region should implement policies that increase resilience to new shocks, accelerate technological change, and promote human capital development and trade that enables countries to capitalize on their comparative advantages. The CAREC region is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to climate change and natural disasters, and food security and disaster protection have come to policies’ forefront. Dr. Holzhacker concluded that to secure a smooth transition to new industries and services without a surge in inequality and heightened social tensions policies that ensure inclusiveness will be needed.