Geçiş dönemi ekonomilerinde bölgesel gelişme aracı olarak kadın girişimciliği politikalarının analizi: Azerbaycan örneği

The countries in transition found themselves in a specific position trying to adapt to the market economy on one hand, and on the other keeping up with the rest of the world in further adapting to the dynamics created by the forces of globalisation. For those with rich energy resources, it is even more complex because then they need to add to the mix the need to make sure that the economic activities are diversified enough to avoid adverse effects of volatility in international energy markets while ensuring that the income is fairly distributed, that the private sector is strong enough and that enough jobs are created within the economy. Regional disparities in economic and social development are endemic to these countries and require efficient mobilisation of resources in lagging regions. Private sector development, and in this regard, supporting entrepreneurship seems to be the way out. However, entrepreneurship policies in these countries need to address the specific conditions of the country including its economic, political and social transformation. Supporting entrepreneurship and women entrepreneurship in particular has been rising on various governments' agendas. Public policies to this end implement a series of measures in order to reap the benefits of entrepreneurship especially in terms of regional development and job creation. In this paper, we analyse the public policies for supporting women entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan, their pattern dictated by the transformation process, the mechanism through which government spending on these programs affect job creation, and the impact they have on the economic and social development of the regions. We find that the focus of general entrepreneurship policies in Azerbaijan shifted from "Opportunity factors" in the period 2004-2008 to "Skills factors" in 2009-2013. For women entrepreneurs, "Motivation factors" seem to be as important as the "Opportunity factors". Improving the legal infrastructure for the business environment is -not surprisingly- a priority for any transition economy. The fact that Motivation is a priority area for women is consistent with the impact of social norms that shape women's attitudes towards entrepreneurship, especially in Azerbaijan, where an important aspect that need factoring in is the societal support for women's entrepreneurial activities, or the lack of it. Secondly, we find that the government spending on women entrepreneurship policies has an effect on the job creation in the economic regions of the country, through a set of mechanisms which may be different than those in western countries, but consistent with the realities on the ground in Azerbaijan. Furthermore, we find out that although modest, women's entrepreneurship activities do have a positive effect on the economic and social development of a specific economic region, Ganja-Qazax, of Azerbaijan.