Human Capital Mobility and Migration’s Impact on Economic and Technological Progress
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3986/2026.1.3Keywords:
unemployment, employment, emigrants, immigrants, education, natural population growthAbstract
This study analyzes how migration and other factors affect employment and unemployment in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan using statistical methods and finds that economic and educational opportunities attract migrants, thereby increasing labor market competition. In Kazakhstan, unemployment is influenced by new arrivals and higher education graduates (positive) and by GDP per capita (negative); employment is influenced by R&D spending and GDP (positive), as well as by new arrivals (negative). In Kyrgyzstan, higher education graduates reduce unemployment, while arrivals and graduates of secondary vocational institutions boost employment. Migration negatively affects employment in Kazakhstan and positively affects it in Kyrgyzstan, informing future migration policy decisions.
Downloads
References
Aksu, E., Erzan, R., & Kırdar, M. G. (2022). The Impact of the Mass Migration of Syrians on the Turkish Labor Market. Labour Economics, 76, 102183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2022.102183
An, L., Qin, Y., Wu, J., & You, W. (2024). The Local Labor Market Effect of Relaxing Internal Migration Restrictions: Evidence from China. Journal of Labor Economics, 42(1), 161–200. https://doi.org/10.1086/722620
Arbashiyeva, A., & Spanov, M. (2022). Migration Processes of Labor Resources in the Regions of Kazakhstan within the EEU. Eurasian Journal of Economic and Business Studies, 63(1), 80–99. https://doi.org/10.47703/ejebs.v1i63.79
Askarova, A. K., Zholboldueva, D. S., Orozova, C. S., Zhamasheva, G. S., & Ashiralieva, B. A. (2025). Some Features of the Migration Process in the Kyrgyz Republic, Caused by the Gap Between the Education Market and the Labor Market. In E. G. Popkova (Ed.), Bridging the Gap Between the Higher Education and Labor Markets: Relevance of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (pp. 193–202). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-1933-7_22
Auer, D. (2022). Firing Discrimination: Selective Labor Market Responses of Firms During the COVID-19 Economic Crisis. PloS One, 17(1), e0262337. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262337
Azoulay, P., Jones, B. F., Kim, J. D., & Miranda, J. (2022). Immigration and ENTREPRENEURSHIP in the United States. American Economic Review: Insights, 4(1), 71–88. https://doi.org/10.1257/aeri.20200588
Bilovodska, O., Kravchuk, T., Ponomarenko, I., Bliumska-Danko, K., & Kononenko, A. (2024). Artificial Intelligence for Marketing Product Strategy in the Online Education Market. Economics of Development, 23(3), 18–31. https://doi.org/10.57111/econ/3.2024.18
Boruchowicz, C., Martinelli, C., & Parker, S. W. (2024). Economic Consequences of Mass Migration. Economy, 23(1), 107–136. https://doi.org/10.31389/eco.436
Bureau of National Statistics. (2025). Official Statistical Information of Kazakhstan. https://stat.gov.kz/en
Critelli, F. M., Lewis, L. A., Yalim, A. C., & Ibraeva, J. (2021). Labor Migration and Its Impact on Families in Kyrgyzstan: A Qualitative Study. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 22, 907–928. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-020-00781-2
Dinkelman, T., Kumchulesi, G., & Mariotti, M. (2024). Labor Migration, Capital Accumulation, and the Structure of Rural Labor Markets. Review of Economics and Statistics, 1–59. https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_01419
Dzhooshbekova, A., Chynykeeva, G., Abduvapova, A., Turdubaev, K., Elchibekov, U., Arstanov, S., Satybaldieva, C., Osmonova, S., Sulaimanov, E., Abduvapova, A., Osmonova, B., & Abdullaeva, Z. (2021). External Migration Problems of Kyrgyzstan Population in the Post-Soviet Period. Advances in Applied Sociology, 11(3), 113. https://doi.org/10.4236/aasoci.2021.113009
Gianfreda, G., & Vallanti, G. (2024). Migration and Natives’ Inequality: Evidence from Italian Local Labor Markets. Journal of Regional Science, 64(5), 1511–1544. https://doi.org/10.1111/jors.12707
Gillespie, B. J., Mulder, C. H., & Von Reichert, C. (2022). The Role of Family and Friends in Return Migration and Its Labor Market Outcomes. Population Research and Policy Review, 41, 115–138. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-021-09650-x
Greenwood, M. J. (2021). Migration and Labor Market Opportunities. In M. M. Fischer & P. Nijkamp (Eds.), Handbook of Regional Science (pp. 467–480). Springer Berlin. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-60723-7_5
Groeger, A., León-Ciliotta, G., & Stillman, S. (2022). Immigration, Labor Markets and Discrimination: Evidence from the Venezuelan Exodus in Perú. World Development, 174, 106437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2023.106437
Isabekov, K. S., Chikeeva, Z. C., Isirailova, A. T., Sutalinova, N. A., & Koichukulova, Z. B. (2025). Interrelation of Migration Processes and Education: Trends, Challenges, and Prospects (On the Example of the Kyrgyz Republic). In E. G. Popkova (Ed.), Bridging the Gap Between the Higher Education and Labor Markets: Relevance of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (pp. 203–211). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-1933-7_23
Iskakova, D., Kurmanalina, A., Iskakova, D., Serikbayeva, S., & Ibrasheva, A. (2023). Migration Impact on the Labour Market and Economic Activity of Kazakhstan. Eurasian Journal of Economic and Business Studies, 67(3), 149–162. https://doi.org/10.47703/ejebs.v3i67.317
Ivanchenkov, V., Vovk, V., Yermolenko, O., Prusova, G., & Revenko, O. (2024). Innovative Factors Ensuring Strategic Changes in Sectors of the National Economy. Economics of Development, 23(4), 20–37. https://doi.org/10.57111/econ/4.2024.20
Jussibaliyeva, A. K., Iskakova, D. M., Duisenbayeva, B. B., Tleuberdiyeva, S. S., & Iskakova, D. B. (2022). Economic Aspects and Factors of Educational and Labor Migration of Kazakhstan Youth Abroad. Economics: Strategy and Practice, 17(2), 126–145. https://doi.org/10.51176/1997-9967-2022-2-126-145
Lebow, J. (2022). The Labor Market Effects of Venezuelan Migration to Colombia: Reconciling Conflicting Results. IZA Journal of Development and Migration, 13(1), 1–49. https://doi.org/10.2478/izajodm-2022-0005
Liadskyi, I., Kononets, N., & Senko, I. (2022). Management of Social Intelligence in the Context of Developing Citizen’s Patriotism. Economics, Entrepreneurship, Management, 9(2), 44–52. https://doi.org/10.56318/eem2022.02.044
National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic. (2025). Official Statistical Information of Kyrgyzstan. https://stat.gov.kg/en
Olivieri, S., Ortega, F., Rivadeneira, A., & Carranza, E. (2021). Shoring up Economic Refugees: Venezuelan Migrants in the Ecuadoran Labor Market. Migration Studies, 9(4), 1590–1625. https://doi.org/10.1093/migration/mnab037
Peñaloza-Pacheco, L. (2022). Living with the Neighbors: The Effect of Venezuelan Forced Migration on the Labor Market in Colombia. Journal for Labour Market Research, 56, 14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12651-022-00318-3
Platt, L., Polavieja, J., & Radl, J. (2022). Which Integration Policies Work? The Heterogeneous Impact of National Institutions on Immigrants’ Labor Market Attainment in Europe. International Migration Review, 56(2), 344–375. https://doi.org/10.1177/01979183211032677
Přívara, A. (2021). Labour Market Efficiency and Emigration in Slovakia and EU Neighbouring Countries. Economic Research, 34(1), 1850–1869. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2020.1858131
Sabihanova, M. (2024). Internal Migration Dynamics and Labor Force Challenges in Kazakhstan. Eurasian Science Review: An International Peer-Reviewed Multidisciplinary Journal, 2(3), 105–118. https://doi.org/10.63034/esr-68
Schneider, O. (2022). Labour Migration in the European Union: The Case of Central and Eastern Europe. Economic Annals, 67(233), 7–38. https://doi.org/10.2298/EKA2233007S
Selod, H., & Shilpi, F. (2021). Rural-Urban Migration in Developing Countries: Lessons from the Literature. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 91, 103713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2021.103713
Shevchuk, V., & Radelytskyy, Yu. (2024). Adaptation of Accounting and Audit Education to the Challenges of Artificial Intelligence. Economics, Entrepreneurship, Management, 11(2), 46–54. https://doi.org/10.56318/eem2024.02.046
Su, C. W., Yuan, X., Umar, M., & Lobonţ, O. R. (2022). Does Technological Innovation Bring Destruction or Creation to the Labor Market? Technology in Society, 68, 101905. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.101905
Wang, C., & Shen, J. (2022). Settlement Intention of Migrants in Urban China: The Effects of Labor-Market Performance, Employment Status, and Social Integration. Applied Geography, 147, 102773. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2022.102773
Zhumashbekova, S., Kirdasinova, K., Talapbayeva, G., Bekmagambetova, G., Nurpeissova, A., Orynbekova, G., & Aldeshova, S. (2024). Assessment of the Migration Processes on the Example of Kazakhstan. Regional Science Policy & Practice, 16(3), 12645. https://doi.org/10.1111/rsp3.12645
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors guarantee that the work is their own original creation and does not infringe any statutory or common-law copyright or any proprietary right of any third party. In case of claims by third parties, authors commit their self to defend the interests of the publisher, and shall cover any potential costs.
More in: Submission chapter
