Improving Regional Economic Mechanisms for Industrial Development in the Regions of Uzbekistan: Concentration, Inequality and Convergence

This study examines the regional economic mechanisms of industrial development in Uzbekistan and assesses how evenly industrial capacity is distributed across the country's 14 regions. Using official 2025 statistics, it measures the spatial concentration and inequality of industrial output with the Herfindahl-Hirschman, Theil and Gini indices, decomposes national industrial growth by region, and tests for β-convergence. Industrial output reached UZS 1,101.1 trillion in 2025 (real growth of 6.8%), yet 52.9% of it was produced in three regions - Tashkent city, Navoi and Tashkent region - home to only 19.5% of the population. Per capita output differs 28-fold between Navoi and Surkhandarya (Theil index 0.378; Gini 0.441). The β-convergence coefficient is negative but statistically insignificant, indicating that lagging regions are not catching up on their own. The study proposes a typology of regions, a four-tier model of the regional industrial development mechanism (goals - instruments - institutions - monitoring) and differentiated, performance-linked incentive measures.