“And I’ve always wondered how people with an official salary of 80-100€ manage to afford a 25,000€ Dubai-imported 4×4, even though that is not hard to guess.”

That’s a legitimate question But before you fill the void with assumtions, let me tell you another aspect of life in Tajikistan: There is an official salary for people and there is another (unofficial) “salary” which is derrived by making favors to people.

Here is how it works:
Suppose someone works at a cement factory and has access to cheap cement (or free cement). That someone could have a neighbor who wants to build a house (an expensive venture if you pay for everything). Suppose that neighbor (eliminating a long chain of transactions) is a car dealer. So, if you get my drift by now, what happens is that these two people make a little transaction whereby a new BMW is exchanged by a pre-agreed number of cement bags…

In another example, a doctor would treat someone, while that someone (being a farmer) would bring meat or other produce to the doctor (out of gratitude) the next day (instead of paying).

As illustrated above, I believe a great part of economy is not monetised, therefore misses the calculation of economists when those calculate the “poverty index”.

These kind of transactions produce a lot of inefficiencies in economic terms, but that is a totally different topic.

In explaining the phenomena of expensive cars in CA one should also keep in mind the “weight” of these kind of material good in people’s overall “rating” in society. I have seen those who would go a great length to buy a car, meaning they would spend their last penny on it. It may not be news that cars are more than a transport, but in CA they are something even more…

Does that changes anything to the fact that Uzb IS a Third World country (cf. widespread structural poverty, systematic corruption, a primarily raw material economy etc.)? The Daewoo plant in Andijan is more exception then rule in Uzb and actually more of a showcase.

“Though, the tax on imported cars are really high, world’s famous brands like Mercedes Benz, BMW, Toyota, Audi, etc are very common too.”

So it is in many African countries too. That’s not an indicator for structural development or being Third World or not.

“Ever since I saw a shiny new white Jaguar humming along on a dusty road in rural southern Tajikistan (where do you get parts?!) I’ve always wondered the story behind some of these nicer cars in Central Asia.”

And I’ve always wondered how people with an official salary of 80-100€ manage to afford a 25,000€ Dubai-imported 4×4, even though that is not hard to guess.