Asst. Prof. Dr. Ali Rıza Solmaz is a faculty member at Kocaeli University, Faculty of Political Sciences, Department of Economics. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics and his M.A. in Economic Development and International Economics from Kocaeli University. His research focuses on international trade, regional development, environmental and energy economics, and innovation economics. Dr. Solmaz has published several research articles and book chapters in peer-reviewed journals and has presented his work at national and international conferences.