Publication Details
Abstract
In transition economies, small business is important in facilitating economic growth, job creation, and transformation of the structure. In Uzbekistan, there are ongoing institutional changes that have enhanced legal rights of freedom of entrepreneurship and protection of property. Nonetheless, even with the policy support, recent trends of small business development show structural oscillation and local inequality, and it implies the lack of overall empirical evaluation of post-reform dynamics. The purpose of the proposed study is to evaluate the dynamics, regional distribution, sectoral structure, entrepreneurial density, and recently established small business entities in Uzbekistan in 202024. The study is founded on the official national statistical data and uses the descriptive statistics, dynamic trend analysis, structural composition, and regional comparative analyses. The results show that there has been a 12.9 percent decrease in operating small business companies within study period, the dwindling entrepreneurial density per 1000 population, growing geographical concentration in Tashkent city and a structural drift towards trade activities and a falling proportion of industrial industries. Moreover, the count of new businesses that were formed reduced thus showing a decline in entrepreneurial dynamism in most locations. The findings indicate that to provide a balanced and sustainable development of small businesses, specific policy tools at the regional level, institutional support, and improvement of financial accessibility, and encouragement of productive and innovation-driven sectors should be provided.