THE ROLE OF NATURAL MONOPOLIES IN THE NATIONAL ECONOMY

Abstract

In the modern economy, natural monopolies, being mainly infrastructure companies, often determine the sustainable functioning and development of national economic systems. Their tariffs have a great impact on the country's economy. Natural monopolies exclude the possibility of creating an economically efficient competitive environment, resulting in the need for state intervention in its activity. In the article, the nature of natural monopolies, their social (public) effects, their performance as an essential part of the infrastructure of the national economy, the subadditivity of the costs of natural monopolies, the increasing importance of alternative energy sources in the world energy supply were touched upon, and an analysis of the indicators was given in the example of electroenergetics, which is one of the main representatives of natural monopolies in Azerbaijan, and the reform prospects of the field were considered. Also, a brief overview of the contributions made by representatives of various theoretical schools to the study of certain aspects of the activity of natural monopolies is given. It was noted that it is more important not to destroy natural monopolies, but to direct their activities to the maximization of social benefits, viability and economic security of the country through efficient regulation by the state. In the present conditions, it is concluded that this policy reflects the change of the priorities of the state policy in relation to the mentioned sectors of the economy, leaving room for the issues of the reform of Azerbaijan's natural monopolies. Based on the world experience, it is justified that the strategy of the reform of natural monopolies of Azerbaijan envisages the structural division of vertically integrated systems, and this involves a strict vertical division of the reformed areas into competitive and natural monopoly activities. However, in many countries, in addition to vertically integrated monopoly companies, independent electricity producers and even separate distribution companies exist in parallel.