Perceived “common” social problems and macroeconomic trends in Azerbaijan

Abstract

The research presents an elaborated mapping of common social problems in Azerbaijan across country’s regions. Using a survey dataset of 2161 respondents representing various socio-demographic categories of the population, the study borrows a two-stage approach to identify the “common” social problems in the country. Primary research findings are (1) the "top 5" list includes inflation, unemployment, corruption, state of education and health, and poverty, (2) a correlation exists between macro-economic trends and the population's social problem perception, (3) the subjective evaluation is relatively less institutional in the regions, and among less educated people, and (4) poverty is a typical problem for the less educated people. From institutional perspective, Azerbaijan government should put more effort into enhancing governance quality. On the economic side, the government needs to reconsider its official unemployment and poverty records to do more precise policy estimates, which is crucial to abstaining from social unrest.