Academic Advisor:

Kazakhstan has made significant economic progress in the relatively short time since independence from the Soviet Union. However, the country has come to a critical juncture in their economic development. Kazakhstan’s reliance on significant central government control of the economy and legal system is impeding economic progress. Despite numerous economic strategies meant to move up the value chain, the country’s prosperity has come primarily in the form of inherited, rather than created, wealth. This paper will consist of two sections. In the first section we will analyze the economic performance and current business environment of Kazakhstan. In particular, we will focus our efforts on studying the various strengths and weaknesses within the macro and micro levels of economic competitiveness, and suggest actions that will allow the country to increase prosperity. We will argue that the country has a number of endowments and factor inputs which lay the foundation for economic development. Kazakhstan’s goals must now be to improve the business environment, including political institutions, the rule of law, and level of rivalry in the private sector. If Kazakhstan is successful in implementing changes, it has the opportunity to be a business hub within a large and growing region of the world