Challenges of globalization and exchange rate policies in Central Asian independent states

The paper examines the efficiency of the different exchange rate policies i n cushioning the impacts of external shocks on the Central Asian economies that have adopted varying, radical, and gradual, strategies. It deals with a comparative analysis of negative effects of global and regional financial crises, as well as with peculiarities of interdependence between exchange rates fluctuations and competitiveness of the goods produced in the region for different markets. Special focus is made on the system of multiple exch ange rates taking Uzbekistan's experience as an example. The study strongly underlines the necessity of finding particular mix of government and marke t instruments, radical and gradual steps related to exchange rate policy in each individual state and introducing anti-crisis measures, whenever it is required.