Publication Details
Abstract
The service sector has become the main driver of structural change in Uzbekistan, yet the socio-economic efficiency of its development is still judged mostly by output volumes. This paper proposes a methodological framework that classifies efficiency assessment methods into direct, indirect and mixed groups and organises the corresponding indicators at the macro, meso and micro levels. Two components of the framework are applied empirically. First, an integral regional index is built from official 2025 data on market services in the 13 regions of Uzbekistan, excluding the capital, using per capita service volume, volume growth and per capita growth. The regions fall into three groups: Samarkand, Tashkent region, Namangan and Khorezm form the high group, while Karakalpakstan, Syrdarya, Surkhandarya and Kashkadarya form the low group. Tashkent city, with per capita services 4.6 times the national average, is treated as a structural outlier. Second, the link between innovation activity and service sector development is examined with national data for 2010–2020. Strong correlations in levels (r = 0.97 for innovative output) disappear when growth rates are used, indicating that the apparent relationship largely reflects common trends. The findings suggest that regional service policy should target lagging regions through per capita indicators rather than aggregate volumes, and that the impact of innovation on services needs firm-level evidence rather than national time series. The framework can support the monitoring targets introduced for the service sector in 2025.