Publication: Azerbaijan : Living Conditions Assessment Report
Date
2010-03-01
ISSN
Published
2010-03-01
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
Azerbaijan saw a substantial reduction
in poverty during the 2000s, owing to significant economic
growth and policies and programs that improved the
distribution of wealth. Seizing the opportunity afforded by
the oil boom, Azerbaijan initiated large public sector
investment programs and supportive policies to increase
wages and social protection transfers to the population, and
institutional reforms aimed at modernizing the economy.
These efforts translated into double-digit growth and an
impressive reduction in poverty. The report underscores that
the government's targeted social assistance program has
been successful in channeling public transfers to the most
needy. On the other hand, high dependence on oil revenues,
compounded by the current global economic crisis, presents
challenges to maintaining growth and could jeopardize the
gains made in poverty reduction. Moreover, while Azerbaijan
has made significant progress in building capacity to
redistribute the benefits of growth, significant challenges
remain in developing the human capital of the population to
participate actively in future growth and to close the
productivity gap with its comparators in the post crisis world.
Citation
“World Bank. 2010. Azerbaijan : Living Conditions Assessment Report. © World Bank. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/2836 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”