Shoirakhon Nurdinova

Shoirakhon Nurdinova is an Associate Professor at Kimyo International University in Tashkent. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Anadolu University (Türkiye).

Shoirakhon Nurdinova is an Associate Professor at Kimyo International University in Tashkent. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Anadolu University (Türkiye). Her research focuses on behavioral economics, migration, and gender studies in Central Asian contexts. She is recognized as a pioneer of happiness economics research in Uzbekistan and the author of the first Uzbek-language textbook on behavioral economics. Dr. Nurdinova has held research and policy positions at leading think tanks and institutions, including the Center for Economic Research and Reforms, the Foundation for Migration Studies (Türkiye), the Institute for Development of Social Protection, and Institute for Gender and Family.She has prepared policy briefs, gender action plans, and research reports for international organizations, and has consulted for UNDP, Aga Khan Foundation, and EU-funded initiatives. Dr. Nurdinova is actively engaged in international academic networks. She serves as a Board Member of the OWSD National Chapter Central Asia and as a member of the Regional Outreach Committee of the Central Eurasian Studies Society, contributing to regional scholarly collaboration and knowledge exchange. Her international academic experience includes visiting appointments at the University of Latvia, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Indiana University, etc. She has served as a reviewer for Central Asian Survey, Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, and Journal of Happiness Studies. Her work bridges academic research and public policy, contributing evidence-based insights to migration governance, gender equality, and social reform in Uzbekistan.

Research interests: happiness economics, gender studies, Central Eurasian studies

Selected media coverage

Vatandosh, July 1, 2020

Egazete Anadolu, April 12, 2019

Selected publications

Nurdinova, S. (2025). Paradoxes of Migration in Tajikistan: Locating the Good Life by Elena Borisova, UCL Press, 2024, 345 pp., $70 (hbk), ISBN: 9781800086654. Central Asian Survey, 44(4)645-647 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02634937.2025.2574494
Nurdinova, S. (2025). Happiness and life satisfaction in Central Asia. ISBN, 978-981-95-3081-6, Springer International Publishing, 135 p.
Nurdinova, S., & Veenhoven, R (2025). Happiness of Housewives: a review of research, International Journal of Happiness and Development, xx-xx. forthcoming
Nurdinova, S. (2025). Social Capital and Subjective Well-Being in Uzbekistan: Empirical Evidence Based on the World Values Survey. Region: Regional Studies of Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia, 14(1), 105-120.
Nurdinova, S. (2025). Chet ellarda o’qigan Turkistonlik yoshlar (Young People from Turkistan Who Studied Abroad): by Abduvali Yuldoshev, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, ‘Fan’ publishing house, 2024, 272 pp. US$4.70 (hbk), ISBN 978-9943-19-724-4. Central Asian Survey, 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1080/02634937.2025.2537773
Nurdinova, S. (2024). Happiness in Uzbekistan. International Journal of Happiness and Development, 8(4), 436-449. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJHD.2024.144445
Nurdinova, S. (2024). Uzbek Diaspora in the USA: Migration, Social Change, and Quality of Life. In Handbook of Quality of Life and Social Change: Individual and Collective Paths (pp. 275-285). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://link.springer.com/book/9783031395062
Kamp, M., & Nurdinova, S. (2022). Uzbek Migrants in Türkiye: Gender, Satisfaction in Türkiye, and Return Intentions. Region: Regional Studies of Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia, 11(2), 193-210.