Abstract
Reform of the quasi-public sector is a key direction of structural transformation in Kazakhstan, where state-owned and state-controlled organizations dominate the mining, energy, transport, and infrastructure sectors. Existing assessments of the reform focus on the number of privatized assets and budget revenues and do not capture its systemic impact on sustainable economic growth, industrial development, and the quality of institutions. This study develops and applies an analytical model to assess the systemic effects of reforming the quasi-public sector in Kazakhstan and to determine the potential for its multiplier impact across economic sectors. The study employs official annual time-series data of Kazakhstan's Bureau of National Statistics for 2018–2024 on gross value added (GVA), GDP share, labour productivity and enterprise-size structure, analyzed through structural-dynamic analysis, the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI), an integrated index of reform effectiveness (IQSR) and Leontief inter-sectoral analysis. The results show that sectoral GVA grew by 87.1% while its share of GDP declined from 16.15% to 13.67%, labour productivity of large enterprises rose by 59.3%, the share of large organizations in sectoral GVA fell by 6.37 percentage points and that of medium-sized organizations rose by 6.23 percentage points, the HHI decreased from 0.7352 to 0.6447, and the IQSR increased from 0.033 to 1.000. The findings suggest that the reform is accompanied by a gradual decentralization of economic activity and productivity gains that support decent work and economic growth. At the same time, state participation remains concentrated in strategic industries, so the reform's effectiveness depends on the quality of governance and institutions rather than on the scale of privatization alone.