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40 n 0 O IMPROVING UZBEKISTAN'S POSITION IN INTERNATIONAL RATINGS L U L 0 AND INDEXES: THEORY, PRACTICE, AND STRATEGY
A STRATEGY TO IMPROVE THE COUNTRY'S POSITION IN INTERNATIONAL RANKINGS AND INDEXES, A PRIORITY FOR THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN.
Khazratova Kunduz Mamaraimovna
Senior English teacher of the Uzbekistan State World Languages University https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10143302
Abstract. The article explores the role, essence and significance of international ratings and indices, assesses the current situation of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the context of economic reforms, and also explores the main directions for improving the position of the Republic of Uzbekistan in international ratings and indices as a factor in stabilizing and developing the economy and introducing foreign experience in accordance with changing modern conditions. This article discusses ways and methods to improve the position of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the index of economic freedom. The reforms and results of the measures taken in terms ofprevious years are presented.
Keywords: significance of ratings and indices, economic reforms, developing economy and education, introducing foreign experience, methods of to improve the position of the index
Аннотация. В статье исследуется роль, сущность и значение международных рейтингов и индексов, дается оценка текущей ситуации Республики Узбекистан в контексте экономических реформ, а также исследуются основные направления улучшения позиций Республики Узбекистан в международных рейтингах и индексах как фактора стабилизации и развития экономики и внедрение зарубежного опыта в соответствии с меняющимися современными условиями. В данной статье рассматриваются пути и методы улучшения позиций Республики Узбекистан в индексе экономической свободы. Представлены реформы и результаты мер, принятых в предыдущие годы.
Ключевые слова: значимость рейтингов и индексов, экономические реформы, развитие экономики и образования, внедрение зарубежного опыта, методы улучшения позиций индекса
Annotatsiya. Maqolada xalqaro reytinglar va indekslarning roli, mohiyati va ahamiyati o'rganilib, iqtisodiy islohotlar kontekstida O'zbekiston Respublikasining hozirgi holati baholanadi, shuningdek, iqtisodiyotni barqarorlashtirish va rivojlantirish omili sifatida O'zbekiston Respublikasining xalqaro reyting va indekslardagi mavqeini yaxshilashning asosiy yo'nalishlari o'rganiladi hamda o'zgaruvchan zamonaviy sharoitlarga muvofiq xorijiy tajribani joriy etish o'rganiladi. Ushbu maqolada O'zbekiston Respublikasining iqtisodiy erkinlik indeksidagi mavqeiniyaxshilash yo'llari va usullari ko'rib chiqiladi. Islohotlar va o'tganyillarda ko'rilgan chora-tadbirlar natijalari taqdim etildi.
Kalit so 'zlar: reytinglar va indekslarning ahamiyati, iqtisodiy islohotlar, iqtisodiyot va ta'limni rivojlantirish, xorijiy tajribani joriy etish, indeks pozitsiyalarini yaxshilash usullari.
Introduction
Phenomena for which ratings are compiled today relate to a wide variety of areas of activity - education, economics, cultural life, sports, etc. In this study, we will consider ratings in education and economics. Ratings are often published in socio-political publications, and on the official websites. The popularity of such ratings is explained by the fact that the media audience wants to know the priorities that currently exist in an area that is important to them. Depositors need information about which banks are the most reliable and which can fail. There are many examples
0 n 0 O IMPROVING UZBEKISTAN'S POSITION IN INTERNATIONAL RATINGS L U L 0 AND INDEXES: THEORY, PRACTICE, AND STRATEGY
of the use of ratings in everyday life. The most consistent with the concept of ratings used in the economy. Education is also important in the ratings of Uzbekistan.
Literature review
The conceptual foundations and practical issues of the role of international ratings and indices for reforms are reflected in the scientific works of such economists as T. Miller, A. Kim, J. M. Roberts, Levin A., Of the scientists from the near abroad, this topic was investigated by Karminsky A.M., Peresetsky A.A., Petrova E.A..
international ratings and indices for reforms in the economy was directly or indirectly studied by Norov A.R., N.Kh. Zhumaev, Aktamov Sh. R., Alieva D.R., Urokov S, Sh.A. Toshmatov, Toshmurodova, D.Kh. Pulatov, Z. Sirojiddinova, N.G. Karimov, H.A. Kurbanov and others. Meanwhile, the studies conducted by the above scientists were mainly devoted to theoretical, methodological issues of using international ratings and indices in the country's reforms, they considered only some categories of issues related to international ratings and indices.
Research methodology
The research methodology is based on general scientific methods: analysis and synthesis, logical and comparative analysis, sample surveys. Reference, statistical and regulatory materials on the problem under study were used.
Analysis and results
Rating implies the assignment of an economic entity to a class or category. Rating is a comprehensive assessment of the state of the subject, which uses a combination of many indicators that are not always formalized. The English term "rating" in dictionaries is usually translated as "rating","index", "value", "position".
Rating is a concept with a much deeper economic meaning than credit rating, financial rating and index. The main factor guaranteeing the objectivity of the rating is the market reputation of the agency itself and the level of trust in it, which potentially encourages agencies to be objective. Legal entities need credit ratings of enterprises, securities. Regions and enterprises need rating assessments of credit risks of state and regional debt obligations, stability of banks and other financial institutions, credit ratings of enterprises, ratings of securities and investment projects, individual goods and services.
We advise individuals to be interested in the valuation of securities of enterprises, the assessment of the reliability of banks, insurance organizations, other financial institutions, the ratings of educational institutions, healthcare organizations, etc.
In recent years, Uzbekistan's position in international rankings and indexes has been improving.
On the basis of the presidential decision "On measures to ensure the harmony of scientific potential and practical activity in working with international ratings and indices", the republican council is working to improve the situation. In particular, an international rating forum and seminars-trainings are organized as part of it every year.
In 2022 on October 26 the Rule of Law Index was announced. It should be noted that in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated June 2, 2020 No. PD-6003 "On improving the position of the Republic of Uzbekistan in international ratings and indices, as well as introducing a new mechanism for systematic work with them in state bodies and organizations", the Rule of Law Index defined as one of the priority international ratings and indices for Uzbekistan.
0 n 0 O IMPROVING UZBEKISTAN'S POSITION IN INTERNATIONAL RATINGS L U L 0 AND INDEXES: THEORY, PRACTICE, AND STRATEGY
The Ministry of Justice is a state body responsible for taking systematic and consistent measures to improve the position of the Republic of Uzbekistan in international ratings and indices in the political and legal sphere, including the Rule of Law Index.
The Rule of Law Index is compiled annually by the international non-governmental organization World Justice Project, and includes 8 indicators, in particular, "Constraints on Government Powers", "Absence of corruption", "Open Government", "Fundamental rights", "Order and Security", "Regulatory enforcement", "Civil Justice" and "Criminal Justice".
The consistent improvement of Uzbekistan's positions in international rankings and indices was facilitated by a strategic approach to the implementation of comprehensive reforms based on two important program documents: the Action Strategy for five priority areas of development of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2017-2021, as well as the Development Strategy ofNew Uzbekistan for 2022-2026.
Measures aimed at eliminating cases of torture and unjustified detentions by some agencies, pressure on citizens and journalists, infringement of the right to freedom of opinion and speech, exclusion of arbitrary interference in private life, as well as the development of civil society institutions and ensuring basic labor rights (security of wages salary, satisfaction with working hours, absence of forced labor).
Reforms implemented in such areas as the openness of local government bodies and ensuring the right of citizens to information by local executive bodies, the participation of citize ns in the decision-making process at the local level. The effective use of mechanisms for appealing against the actions of officials is of great importance.
In recent years Uzbekistan has shown strong political commitment to innovation, introducing a wide array of policy institutions, strategies and support mechanisms to nurture the nascent national innovation system Innovation does not yet happen systematically, as the efficacy of the NIS is constrained by fragmented innovation policy, with relatively scant coordination mechanisms and little inclusion of the private sector; this hinders synergies and alignment with relevant policy areas.
Uzbekistan has set ambitious targets and made significant policy efforts to develop its innovation infrastructure, including by establishing free economic zones (FEZs) and science and technology parks (STPs), and expanding start-up support, such as innovation centres, incubators and accelerators.
Although recent eff orts indicate signifi cant progress, the infrastructure is at an early stage of development and measures do not yet support innovative activity effectively.
Challenges of the current infrastructure include weak framework conditions, under developed logistical infrastructure and related critical infrastructure support for FEZs, sparse linkages between initiatives, low levels of participatory governance, a limited regulatory framework for digitalization and regional integration, and a lack of capacity in providing services for start-ups.
Uzbekistan has several strengths, including high levels of educational attainment, especially in science and engineering; a legacy of public research with commercial potential; and a relatively diversified production structure, including in complex sectors. Enhancing science -industry linkages among research, academica, the private sector and foreign technology providers
• A central feature of the current triple helix modela in Uzbekistan is that R&D activity is largely extramural; it is not yet fully driven by market demand and increasingly focuses on basic research and downstream activities, such as science and technology services.
0 n 0 O IMPROVING UZBEKISTAN'S POSITION IN INTERNATIONAL RATINGS L U L 0 AND INDEXES: THEORY, PRACTICE, AND STRATEGY
• As the economy liberalizes opens up, policy needs to enable institutional transformation to a more flexible, dynamic model of SIL, one that can build on a range of opportunities such as those aff orded by trade and investment openness, requiring signifi cant change in the capabilities of firms and public research organizations.
Education does not meet the demand of the labour market - an unexploited opportunity, given the large share of youth in the population. Low enrolment rates as well as insufficient quality in higher education highlight the need to strengthen support for educational reform.
Ensuring that planned increases in R&D investment have a catalytic effect will require that they be accompanied by R&D governance reforms and strengthened linkages with other innovation stakeholders. For Uzbekistan, a lower-middle-income economy, significant potential benefits lie in incremental innovation: absorbing and adapting knowledge and technology from abroad - products, services and processes that have already successfully worked elsewhere.
Re comme ndation
Improve innovation policy coordination of initiatives across national and regional government authorities, and strengthen public capacities for ef ective design and implementation of policy.
Strengthen the participation of all ministries relevant to innovation and civil society in designing, implementing and monitoring innovation policy initiatives.
Promote start-up creation by ensuring sufficient coordination and awareness of innovation policy initiatives to exploit the entrepreneurial capacity of the broader population, including targeted support for female entrepreneurs.
Enable the functional and structural transformation of the national statistical system to provide policymakers, business and civil society with suffi cient data on innovation.
Foster an evidence-based culture of innovation policy making through a systematic approach to design and to monitoring, assessment and evaluation.
Women constitute approximately 40 per cent5 of the 31,099 researchers in Uzbekistan - a higher share than in neighbouring Tajikistan (37.5 per cent) but lower than in Kazakhstan (52.8 per cent) (World Bank, 2021a). Over 70 per cent of female researchers work in HEIs, 16 per cent in the public sector and about 10 per cent in the business sector, largely concentrated in Tashkent. The largest share of female researchers is between the ages of 35 and 44 (about 30 per cent), slightly larger than the numbers between ages 25 and 34 (27 per cent).
Strengthening the presence of female researchers can further leverage unused potential in the country's human capital. Supporting skills and labour-force development is another important input in expanding innovative capacity and fostering knowledge creation within the economy. Being the most populous and the youngest country in Central Asia - 60 per cent of the population is younger than 30 (UNICEF, 2020).
Uzbekistan has significant untapped potential for developing its human capital. Government expenditure on education is comparatively high, at about 5 per cent of GDP in 2017, lower than only that of Kyrgyzstan (6 per cent) among comparator countries.
The growing population poses a challenge for the country's educational system, specifically in terms of access to and quality of education. The demand for an increasingly diverse set of skills in the developing labour market is not yet matched by educational reform in the country, and universities do not yet fare well in international comparisons. Standardized
quality assessment of education is not yet available; however, in 2021 Uzbekistan did join the
0 n 0 O IMPROVING UZBEKISTAN'S POSITION IN INTERNATIONAL RATINGS L U L 0 AND INDEXES: THEORY, PRACTICE, AND STRATEGY
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment.
Uzbekistan invests a significant amount of resources into education; however, these investments are not yet effectively reflected in the capacities of the labour force. Two efforts -supporting tertiary enrolment more widely and ensuring that high-quality education is offered at HEIs - can enlarge the share of skilled workers in the economy, reduce the skills gap to strengthen the labour market, and ultimately improve productivity and capacities for creating and absorbing knowledge - all of which support innovation in the country.
Conclusions and suggestions
Thus, today we can safely say that reforms aimed at guaranteeing the protection of human rights, raising the standard of living of the population, ensuring freedom of economic activity, improving substantive and procedural norms in the judicial and legal sphere, lead to an increase in the image of Uzbekistan and an increase in the position of our state in authoritative international rankings and indices.
It should be noted that the high positions of the country in international rankings are not only numbers, but in general indicators of the quality of work that directly characterize the international image of the country.
In this regard, it is important: a) systematic study of the best practices of foreign countries to improve positions in international rankings; b) conducting fundamental and applied research, including public opinion polls in the relevant areas of ratings.
The new reform, being primarily a legal basis in this process, will allow us to systematically analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of reforms and give a certain assessment from the outside.
In this process, international ratings are an objective barometer of changes, as well as an indicator of the level of international integration of the national economy.In general, in striving to improve Uzbekistan's IES, it is important to learn from the example of neighboring countries with good performance, paying even more attention to those areas in which they have not been able to achieve improvement.
Experience shows that the growth of the IES is gradual, so we can observe the results of the current reforms in the long term.
In the direction of improving this indicator, the state should solve the problem of optimal distribution of public resources, paying more attention to the cardinal improvement of Uzbekistan's position in terms of the composite indicators "Freedom of investment" and "Financial freedom", i.e. by removing or easing restrictions on the movement of capital. Such conditions, if created, can significantly increase the in flow of foreign direct investment into our country.
In this regard, I propose to continue the administrative reform to ensure a balance between the legislative and executive powers, based on the experience of a number of highly developed countries.
REFERENCES
1. Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated January 28, 2022 UP-60 "On the Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026"
2. El?i, S. (2020). Mapping Research and Innovation in the Republic of Uzbekistan. GO-SPIN Country Profiles in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, vol. 10. Paris: UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
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3. Uzbekistan's position in international ratings changing positively (kun.uz)
4. UNECE (2021). Business Incubators for Sustainable Development in the SPECA Subregion. Geneva. https ://unece .org/ economic-cooperatio n- and- inte gration/pub lications/business -incubators-sustainable-development-speca
5. Permanent Mission of Uzbekistan to the United Nations, "ICT an important factor of national progress", 12 February 2016. https://www.un.int/uzbekistan/news/ict-important-factor-national-progress.
6. Uzbekistan, On approval of the concept for the development of the higher education system of the Republic of Uzbekistan until 2030, Presidential Decree No. UP-5847 of 8 October 2019, https://lex.uz/docs/454588
