Science Policy In Kazakhstan

摘要

In 2006, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev proclaimed that Kazakhstan would advance from the world's 56th most economically competitive nation to the ranks of the top 50 within a decade (1, 2). Science and technology were to be the driving force. But now, this arid country the size of Western Europe with a population of only 15.2 million has fallen to 66th (3).rnIn 2006, the president announced that the nation's investment in scientific research would increase 25 times within 6 years (4), measured in the local currency, the tenge. Taking into account trends in inflation and currency exchange rates, reaching this goalrnwould probably result in an astounding 5- to 10-fold increase in purchasing power (5). In reality, research investment has stayed level, slipping from 0.2 to 0.15% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as national income from oil exports expands.