Publication

This paper examines how and when Kyrgyz governments have manipulated the economy before elections. The author investigates whether the Kyrgyz political system, often categorized as "electoral authoritarianism" or "competitive authoritarianism" under the Akayev and Bakiyev regimes, had engaged in creating electoral business cycles. The analysis demonstrates that in Kyrgyzstan the dictators have created large size electoral cycles in order to maintain their rule. However, such propensity to use economic manipulation is quite different across the three regimes that Kyrgyz people have experienced since national independence.