Page 37 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

Umudvar Q.Aliyev, Gunay U.Guliyeva: Explorıng Economıc Expansıon In Azerbaıjan’s Natıonal Economy

Keywords: national economy, economic expansion, geographical location of
economic activity, economic place, factors of economic expansion

JEL Classification: O47. R11, R53

INTRODUCTION
In economics, as greater attention has been devoted to economic growth and its quantitative
and qualitative indicators, economic expansion has remained a somewhat overshadowed.
It is true that some economic literature, albeit briefly, has touched upon the problems of
economic expansion. For instance, in Gregory Mankiw’s book Principles of Economics,
“economic expansion” is examined as one of the problems in macroeconomics (Gregory
Mankiw, Principles of Economics, 3rd edition, macroeconomics section, 2007).
In recent Russian economic literature, attempts have been made to investigate the concept
of 'economic expansion' and its various qualitative indicators. While in many cases
economic expansion is equated with economic growth, in our view, economic growth
encompasses broader factors. Economic expansion is not only the primary driver of
economic growth but also shapes overall economic development, the degree of
integration into the global economy, a country’s position in international cooperation, and
its contributions to the development of the world economy and individual nations. For
instance, ten European countries serve as reliable partners in energy supply, while our
country emerges as an internationally significant transportation corridor. Additionally, it
influences the role in addressing global challenges, such as allocating $2 billion for
climate financing, among other impacts. The article explores 'economic expansion' from
two perspectives: achieving economic expansion through the full restoration of the
geographical space of the existing national economy and the broadening of the
geographical scope of economic activity. During the period of occupation, our national
economy lacked complete geographical-territorial coverage. As a result, the
opportunities to utilize our national wealth in alignment with our national interests were
constrained.The liberation of our territories from Armenian occupation has fully
restored our sovereignty, significantly enhancing opportunities to leverage the
national economy’s economic expansion and align it with our national interests. This
restoration of sovereignty has not only expanded the geographical scope of
economic activity but also revealed new sources of economic growth. The
implementation of innovative projects in the liberated territories—such as the
development of modern socio-economic infrastructure, the establishment of
contemporary industrial parks, and similar initiatives—has created conditions for
identifying factors that diverge from traditional drivers of economic expansion.
Intensive restoration and construction efforts, supported by over $10 billion in state
funds, have accelerated the reintegration of the regional economy into the national
framework.

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