The paper investigates resource, technical, economic and market potential of solar energy and its ecology and economic efficiency in Azerbaijan. The authors have distinguished six regions in the territory of Azerbaijan with different levels of solar radiation. The resource potential of the regions is calculated by the AutoCad program. As well, technical and economic potential was calculated by special methodology. The authors concluded that Azerbaijan has so much solar energy resource potential and it is possible to replace traditional carbon types of energy with solar energy, even by using the modern technical equipment. However, it is impossible because of economic disadvantages and very low electricity prices. The price of 1 kWh electricity from carbon fuels is several times cheaper than 1 kWh electricity from solar energy. That is why it is difficult to attract investments to develop solar power. There is a necessity to develop a new electricity price policy to stimulate attractiveness of solar power for households and industry.

ABSTRACT. Studies on innovations attract many researchers all over the world due to their crucial role in today's highly competitive world. At the same time, cultural dimensions, cultural factors, and their impact on performance measures are also becoming a very popular topic for research. In our paper, we attempted to analyze the issues related to cultural diversity and its impact on innovation performance. We used survey data-collection method with support of trade unions in regions. Then, we used quantitative techniques such as correlation-regression analyses in order to find support for the proposed hypotheses. We found that cultural diversity has inverted U-curve relationship with innovation performance in the case of Azerbaijan also along with that we found that two components of cultural diversity, namely gender diversity and foreigners' diversity have the highest outcomes in terms of innovation performance when the diversity levels are moderate.

The objectives of the study are to analyze changes in consumer surplus and protect the social interest of poor households (HHs) in the transition from a state monopoly over the electricity sector to the market. For this purpose, the volume of HH electricity consumption by various incomes was calculated, the electricity demand function of HHs and the marginal cost of generating electricity were constructed. A methodology is given for calculating the electricity demand function for HHs and prices in an equilibrium market. The consumer surplus and its change are calculated. As well as there are given some recommendations to reduce the social burden for certain HH groups while raising prices in the transition from a monopoly to the market, and the amount for the state subsidy for poor HHs.

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The article attempts to develop a methodology for a comparative assessment of the economic efficiency of banks, including traditional and Islamic banking models. The assessment shows that the stability of financial institutions in Azerbaijan is lower compared to banks where Islamic banking is used. The assessment also shows that there is a strong dependence of the GDP growth rate on the sub-indices of the effectiveness of financial institutions in Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Iran. The methodology of linear regression and a composite index of the economic efficiency of banks are applied. The assessment shows that the influence of the stability of the financial system on economic growth in Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkey is different. The economic growth rate and the ratio of bank loans to bank deposits in Azerbaijan and Turkey are positively related, but negatively in Iran.