석사학위논문 Study on Customer Satisfaction of Online Shopping in Uzbekistan

Middle Income Growth

Today in Uzbekistan, the middle class forms about 28–30% of the population. Currently about 45–48% of the population can be considered a “middle-class reserve” – people who under certain conditions could become part of the middle class, according to the recent publication by the Center for Economic Research³. To facilitate their transition into the middle stratum of society, institutions providing the means for social mobility are needed. In developed countries, the proportion of population in the middle stratum is about 60%. To achieve this percentage in Uzbekistan, the number of persons in the middle class must double. The larger middle class will help accelerate consumption growth. The middle class can also be a stronger supporter of better governance, providing the taxable income necessary to provide public services such as infrastructure, health and education, and start a business that creates jobs (Boediono, 2017).

The importance of a growing middle class in socio-political and socio-economic processes can be summarized in a few points. From the socio-political standpoint, the middle class, by generating demand for new, quality institutions in various public spheres and in social life, becomes a catalyst for change. From the fact of International Labor Organization, the middle class generates demand for goods and services. As incomes rise, this demand becomes more sophisticated and differentiated, which stimulates innovation. With regard to the economic transformations underway in Uzbekistan, the middle class is particularly important for generating demand for manufactured products, especially consumer goods. While the average national expenditure on food is relatively high (43–49% of earnings), the middle class spends only about 34% of its income on food. A significant proportion of the middle class income is used for non-food items, as for example, purchasing real estate (housing or land), improving living conditions (housing construction and renovation), or buying non-food goods such as cars, appliances, furniture and other items.