Government Wants Prosperous Middle Class

The Kazak government has announced plans to ensure that half of its citizens are middle class by 2015, but NBCentralAsia analysts say the target is largely meaningless given that there is currently no way of defining what the term means.



On June 1, Prime Minister Karim Masimov announced a new government objective of increasing the size of the middle class from the current 20 per cent of the population to 50 per cent by 2015. The government plans to pay special attention to developing small and medium-sized businesses in order to meet the target.



NBCentralAsia analysts say that there is currently no national standard to define what constitutes “middle class” and it is impossible to say how many people fall into that category.



“Until we have national standards, it will be very difficult to define how this middle class will emerge.” said analyst Eduard Poletaev.



Political scientist Aygul Omarova agrees, saying that until criteria are defined, the government will not be able to measure the starting and end points.



“We need to define what middle class means and set criteria for who falls into the group,” she said. “Since we have no clear criteria now, I think the statement that 20 per cent are middle class in Kazakstan today is very dubious.”



The notion of a middle class has numerous definitions, however it is most often used to describe people who are economically independent and to some extent politically aware. Many economists believe a robust middle class is fundamental to economic, social and political development.



Observers have welcomed the government’s new drive, saying that the social gap is widening so fast that it may reach a critical level and give rise to extensive public discontent.



“Masimov’s initiative is of great importance, since it will show up that the growth of the Kazak economy has led to a surge of social discontent among low-income social strata. This situation should be solved by all means,” said Poletaev.



But this initiative is not enough, he adds, the government needs a concrete plan on how to develop the small- and medium-sized businesses which will form the building blocks of a healthy middle class.



Omarova suggests that the entrepreneurs who make up a large portion of the middle class should be given a helping hand in setting up their business by relaxing tax laws and offering them preferential terms.



“But for this to happen, there need to be independent courts to protect the interests of property owners, and independent media where they can make their voices heard,” she explained.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)