Editor's note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the impact of falling oil and commodities prices on resource-exporting countries.
Last month, Kazakhstan announced that it was going to expand production at the Tengiz oil field, increasing output from 26 million to 38 million tons of oil per year. In an email interview, Peter Howie, an associate professor at Nazarbayev University, discussed Kazahkstan’s economy and the role of commodities.
WPR: How important are commodities for Kazakhstan’s economy, and what effect have falling commodities prices had on public spending and, by consequence, political stability?