Leiden University Student Repository

Arends, Anne Saffrijn (2024)

The Impact of Kazakhization on Economic Outcomes: Language, Demographics, and Employment in Kazakhstan

Master thesis | Russian and Eurasian Studies (MA)

This research investigates the increasing importance of the Kazakh language in Kazakhstan, a process referred to as Kazakhization, and its implications for employment opportunities and economic outcomes. The study highlights several key factors contributing to this linguistic shift, including governmental language policies, educational reforms, and the rising bilingual requirements in the job market. Concurrently, the study highlights that demographic shifts, particularly the decreasing proportion of ethnic Russians and the increasing share of ethnic Kazakhs, further bolster the use of Kazakh. Contrary to earlier findings that suggested a significant income gap between Russian and Kazakh speakers caused by language proficiency in Russian, this research demonstrates that income disparities are more influenced by demographic and socio-economic factors such as age and regional economic conditions rather than linguistic factors.

Kazakhstan

Kazakhization

Language policy

Bilingualism

Language proficiency

Income disparity

Economic outcome

Demographic change

Soviet-era legacies

Author

Arends, Anne Saffrijn

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Supervisors

Scarborough, I.M.

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en