Systemic change from a planned economy to a market society requires not only an implementation of market institutions, but also the actions of people according to the new conditions in everyday life. This book focuses on the question of how far middle class households are able to organize their livelihoods. It presents a cross-country, rural-urban comparison in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, based on secondary data and quantitative and qualitative primary research. It examines region specific questions, such as: Do these households take the necessary self-responsibility for their lives? Or, do...