MACMILLAN Economic Welfare and Inequality in Iran: Developments since the Revolution

This book examines economic inequality and social disparity in Iran, together with their drivers, over the past four decades. During this period, income distribution and economic welfare were affected by the 1979 Revolution, the eight-year war with Iraq, post-war privatization and economic liberalization initiatives carried out under the Rafsanjani and Khatami administrations, the ascendance of a populist economic platform under the Ahmadinejad administration, and the lifting of energy and financial sanctions under the Rouhani administration. Featuring a mix of scholars, including Iranian academics who experienced these changes and are publishing in English for the first time, this collection offers quantitative and descriptive studies of the country's post-revolutionary economic development and disparities. In most chapters, a hypothesis is developed from existing theories or observations, which is then tested using available data. This unique combination of new voices, academic as well as personal experiences, and scientific methods will be a valuable addition to the library of the scholars of modern Iran’s economy and society. From the Back Cover This book examines economic inequality and social disparity in Iran, together with their drivers, over the past four decades. During this period, income distribution and economic welfare were affected by the 1979 Revolution, the eight-year war with Iraq, post-war privatization and economic liberalization initiatives carried out under the Rafsanjani and Khatami administrations, the ascendance of a populist economic platform under the Ahmadinejad administration, and the lifting of energy and financial sanctions under the Rouhani administration. Featuring a mix of scholars, including Iranian academics who experienced these changes and are publishing in English for the first time, this collection offers quantitative and descriptive studies of the country's post-revolutionary economic development and disparities. In most chapters, a hypothesis is developed from existing theories or observations, which is then tested using available data. This unique combination of new voices, academic as well as personal experiences, and scientific methods will be a valuable addition to the library of the scholars of modern Iran’s economy and society. About the Author Mohammad Reza Farzanegan is Professor of Economics of the Middle East at the Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany. He is affiliated with MACIE (Marburg), CESifo (Munich) and ERF (Cairo). His recent publications have appeared in the Journal of Peace Research, International Tax and Public Finance, and World Development. Pooya Alaedini is Associate Professor at the Department of Social Planning, University of Tehran, Iran. He has served as an international development consultant for UN agencies, the World Bank, and national organizations. His research has focused on major urban, regional, and social disparity issues as well as evaluation of development programs. Contributors Hamid Reza Ashrafzadeh, Institute for Trade Studies and Research, Iran Mitra Babapour, Freelance Researcher, Iran Nadereh Chamlou, International Development Adviser, USA Sajjad Faraji Dizaji, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran Hassan F. Gholipour, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia Mohamad Mohammadi Khabbazan, University of Hamburg, Germany Majid Koosheshi, University of Tehran, Iran Jeremy Nguyen, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia Hossein Raghfar, Alzahra University, Iran Hossein Sadeghi, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran