EDB Published System of Indicators of Eurasian Integration

The Eurasian Development Bank summarised the results of its first annual study of integration in the post-Soviet space. The Bank’s experts developed a system of statistical indicators to assess the pace and quality of co-operation between the region’s states.

A generalised index of integration suggests that integration of post-Soviet countries slowed down in the 2000s. Whereas labour migration and student exchange increased sharply, the levels of integration in trade, energy and agriculture dropped. Particularly, during the crisis electric power flows between CIS countries shrank by four times compared with the 1980s. The macroeconomic indices of these countries continue to diverge.

At the same time integration increased in EurAsEC, especially in the three Customs Union countries, EurAsEC-3. The Bank’s experts comment that an integration core in the post-Soviet space continues to crystallise.

Russia is the largest but not the sole integration core in the region: Kazakhstan emerges as a new centre attracting trade flows and labour migrants. These flows are provided by Tajikistan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, which demonstrate the highest levels of integration with other post-Soviet countries, mainly in trade and labour migration.

The Bank’s experts comment that 2010 may bring about new qualitative changes in regional economic integration, first of all between the countries of the integration core, and set a high valuation on the prospects and potential of the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. The EurAsEC’s Anti-crisis Fund managed by the EDB is also expected to become an effective tool of regional integration.

The full version of the SIEI is available at https://eabr.org/analytics/.