McKinsey report: As the bulk of economic activity shifts from the U.S. and Europe towards Asia, a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute predicts that Kazakhstan will become a centre of global economic gravity by 2050.“The centre of economic activity is shifting to the South and East and the role of Kazakhstan in the global economy will inevitably change as a result of the impact of the trends that are destroying the existing order and make the government and corporate executives change their ways of thinking and introduce new work methods,” Richard Dobbs, one of the authors of No Ordinary Disruption: The Four Forces Breaking All the Trends, told a press conference in Astana this week.
As the centre of economic activity shifts towards Asia, Kazakhstan’s role will undoubtedly change, the report predicts, because the geo-economic situation will affect the volume of freight traffic moving between China and Europe. On the other hand, Kazakhstan needs to increase its R&D expenditure if it is to address the disruptive effect digital technology is going to have on the established economic order. The country currently tends to invests 0.2% of GDP on R&D each year compared to the 2.5% average in developed economies, and the report suggests that the Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund needs to proactively apply new technologies and participate in the advancement of technological know-how. Astana Times