Regional Development Policies of Korea and Policy Suggestions for Azerbaijan

Regional development has been an increasing priority in the development strategy of Korea. Korea's development experience offers good lessons for developing countries in search of sustainable development. In fact, the study of Korea's economic and social transformation provides a unique opportunity to better understand the factors that drive development. The approaches the country has taken to respond to shifting balances, as well as various issues regarding compensation and competitiveness, set a very impressive example of a proper approach to the development process. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan, as an oil-rich country, has made great progress thanks to its substantial oil profits. However, like Korea, it also faces the problem of urban-rural disparity and is applying numerous regional policies to tackle the issue. Given the relevance and usefulness of Korea's development experiences, it would be wise for Azerbaijan to consider the examples provided by Korea and find clues for possible solutions to the challenges it currently faces. The aim of this paper is to look into the paradigm shifts in the regional development of Korea and Azerbaijan, and to draw policy suggestions for Azerbaijan to upgrade its regional development strategies. The paper offers five policy suggestions for Azerbaijan in light of the Korean experience: (1) regional development policy approaches; (2) designing mechanisms to distribute national resources across regions; (3) increasing spaces for bottom-up initiatives; (4) identifying mechanisms to develop regional specialization; (5) the use of monitoring and evaluation as a learning tool.