Azerbaijan’s Current and Potential Comparative Advantage: An Exploratory Study

The present article "Study of Current and Potential Comparative Advantage of Azerbaijan Economy", which has been prepared as a contribution to the National  Employment Strategy, provides an analysis of the sectors and industries in which Azerbaijan is either currently competitive or there is a potential to become competitive in the future. It is of great significance to define the sectors of the economy which  are competitive in the world market and which have comparative advantage for the creation of new jobs.This study proves the existence of the competitive non-oil sectors in Azerbaijan and there are good grounds to suppose that new and competitive industries can develop in the future. Along with the analyses of the current competitive sectors in Azerbaijan, this report recommends to undertake detailed and comprehensive analysis of those sectors which are proved to be currently competitive and to identify the key obstacles hindering their development. These further investigations should also provide a basis for linking comparative advantage with labor markets to create the conditions for competitive industries that generate employment in the sectors outside  oil and gas. We hope that future research on the potential of the non-oil sector will explore more opportunities for promoting a sustainable increase in employment. See above See above