Publication Details
Abstract
This study analyzes the relationship between regulatory reforms and regional economic development in Uzbekistan during 2017-2024. A balanced panel dataset comprising 14 first-level administrative units over eight years (112 observations) was constructed using official statistics from the Statistics Agency of Uzbekistan, the Central Bank, and international organizations. Three econometric approaches were applied: fixed effects and GMM panel regression to identify growth determinants, β-convergence analysis to assess regional catching-up dynamics, and difference-in-differences estimation to evaluate reform impacts. The panel regression quantified the elasticities of key factors: FDI (0.312), infrastructure (0.215), regulatory quality (0.189), industrial share (0.142), and education (0.104). The convergence analysis established that unconditional β-convergence is statistically insignificant, while conditional convergence proceeds at 3.1% annually with a half-life of 22.4 years. The DID estimation demonstrated that high-reform administrative units achieved 23.4% higher GRP growth and 41.2% greater FDI attraction compared to low-reform counterparts. Based on these findings, policy recommendations for spatially targeted investment incentives and infrastructure prioritization in lagging regions were developed