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Vol. 5 No. 4 (2026)
"Labor Economics and Human Capital" Scientific electronic journal

Articles

INTEGRATION WITHOUT PROTECTION? EAEU MEMBERSHIP, MIGRANT RIGHTS AND HOUSEHOLD RESILIENCE IN KYRGYZSTAN AND UZBEKISTAN (2008-2026)

DOI 10.67668/LEHC/vol5iss4/367 Google Scholar Search in Scholar Pages 61-79

Published 2026-10-14

Authors
Abdurakhmonov Farkhod Abdufarmonovich
Affiliation
Tashkent State University of Economics image/svg+xml
Mehnat iqtisodiyoti va inson kapitali · 4 · 2026
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Abstract

Regional economic integration is expected to protect labour migrants by turning informal mobility into rights-based mobility. This paper tests that expectation by comparing Kyrgyzstan, a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) since 2015, with Uzbekistan, an EAEU observer whose citizens remain subject to Russia’s patent regime. Using a structured literature review and a comparative-historical analysis of three external shocks (2008-2009, 2014-2016 and 2024-2026), the paper finds, first, that the membership “rights premium” was real during the ruble crisis: in 2015-2016 the number of Kyrgyz citizens in Russia rose by 7.6%, while the numbers of Tajik and Uzbek citizens fell by 10.6% and 16.3%. Second, status-blind securitization has reversed this premium: Kyrgyz entries into Russia fell by 23.9% between the third quarters of 2024 and 2025, against 15.0% for Uzbekistan. Third, membership coincides with a concentration trap, as about 93% of Kyrgyz remittances originate in Russia, whereas Uzbekistan has diversified its destinations faster. The paper conceptualizes integration status as a migration institution whose protective value depends on the destination state’s political choices, and it proposes household-level research designs and policy measures for both countries.

Keywords

Eurasian Economic Union, labour migration, migrant rights, remittances, household resilience, securitization

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