The transition period of C.I.S. economies: Oil-based economic development strategy of Azerbaijan

This paper outlines the main characteristics and challenges the transition economies face during their economic development in the face of adverse environmental factors. The overall assessment is that the countries' performance during the first twelve years of the transition has been poor. While important structural transformations have taken place, the relative gap in per capita income between these countries and their developed counterparts has widened. A major problem has clearly been that the initial recession set these countries back relative to developed western economies. Transition economies from other regions are used for comparison purposes. The paper analyses the economic performance of Azerbaijan during the transition period by assessing the strategies and outcomes of the transition experience from a planned economy to that of a market economy stage of its socio-economic development.