About Iran

About Iran Iran Home›Economics Posts›Iran Economics PostsTheoriesAs the proponents of the Neoclassical counterrevolution theory postulate the chaotic situation in developing countries is a product of poor government plans and polices. These countries have so many bad polices that are the foundation of their problems.   Indeed, this is totally evident in Iran. The Neoclassical counterrevolution theory can clearly explain why despite Iran being one of the largest producer of the most valuable source of energy in the world, “the Black Gold” experience gross economic development setback and is still underdeveloped compared to other oil producers in the middle east. Iran is still a third world country. As Verdinejad (2010) observes the government policy has not at all facilitated the country to improve its economic health and eliminate poverty using its lucrative resource. Instead, the policy enabled a few individual to increase their wealth at the expense of the nation.Such policies includ e the policies to fund military activities and privatization of government enterprises and oil resource without regard to wealth creation and realization of social justice. However, as Shohanoushi et al (2008) report, not all government policies have had such devastating impact on economic development. In their study of the effects of fiscal policies and government monetary on social and economic duality in Iran Shohanoushi et al (2008) despite noting that these has not been economic and effective with handling duality the advised that continued implementation of the current policies would finally help eliminate duality. The problems that can be attributed to these failures include poverty, continued neocolonialism and inequalities.Iran also had an experience of ‘big Push.’ This came about after Iran made a lot of oil money after selling oil to the western countries following an increase in the demand of oil in these countries. The big push theory concerns investment directly in to development, and Iran did exactly this using the new found oil boom (Keshavarzian, 131). This approach of investment encourages investment within the county rather than in internal and external financial markets. However, the government failed to appreciate the fact that it lacked the basic infrastructure for such a move. Moreover the country did not have enough skilled labor to work on the development initiatives. Ironically, the president and his advisors thought they would use the money to quickly build infrastructure and also import skilled manpower.The move which saw the government abandon its fifth development plan severely inflated social and economic costs in the country (Avery et al, 633). At the close of the fifth plan scheduled period no new industry hand been completed and likewise most projects that had been started at the close of the fourth plan period had stalled. The country’s private sector also suffered the same consequences. Most investors targeted and scram bled for most profitable ventures. Some increased their activities as well as diversified into new investment fields. There was also an increase in the number of small businesses due to increased funding from local banks and foreigners who were keen not to miss a share of the Iranian market. The adoption of the big push seems to have had both negative and positive impacts on the nation.Standards of livingGeneral discussionA standard of living is the extent of material comfort determined by the amount of services, goods and luxuries that are available to a nation, a community or an individual. It may also be referred to as the extent of material comfort that an individual or community strives to realize. This may range from privately purchased or acquired goods to good that are collectively utilized and services such are those obtained from public utilities and those provided by the government. In a nut shell it is the degree of prosperity for an individual, nation or community. The standard of living established for a group or a country ought to be critically evaluated to decipher its constituent values. If there is an increase in its mean, yet the rich become richer while the poor become poorer over the same period, the whole group under observation is not collectively better-off.There is an array of quantitative indicators which can be used as measuring parameters to quantify the living standards. These include access to nutritious food, general life expectancy, accesses to clean water, standards of education, availability of educational opportunities, housing, communication, transport, salaries, access to medical care and others. The most common indicator used to measure the overall standards of living if the Gross Domestic product (GDP). This is best used to measure the standards of living in a country and can further be used to compare the standards of living between two countries. For instance, the following are indicator showing the standards of living in the United States of America:Standards of living in my countryAs opposed the United State of America above the living standards in my country (Iran) are lower.   First it is worth noting that the US is a developed nation while Iran a thirds world country yet to attain any meaningful development. In this regards it is obvious that the Gross Domestic product of the united stated of America is higher than that of Iran. In recent time the low living standards in the country have been cited as the course of worker strikes (Zadeh, 2011).  The countries GDP currently stands at 31.3%InequalityGeneral discussionInequality is the condition of two or more things being unequal, or having disparities. Inequalities in human population are highly influences by class or poverty, gender, racial ethnicity or religious groups. People find themselves marginalized due to lack or procession of one or some of the characteristics above. In most parts of the world, inequality is the order of the day. Th ere are extreme disparities between the rich and the poor, men and women as well as people from different religions.   In America despite the belief that the country’s economic system provides opportunities for all, there are extreme disparities in the country. Some parts of the country still experience high levels of poverty. This poverty is racially inclined since there is a large number of African-American and Hispanics living below poverty as compared to the whites. Some of those believe to be above the poverty line sometimes have to forego some needs to pay for others, amazingly some skip meals. The nations resources are misappropriated such that one fifth of the richest people in the country take home 47.2% of the country’s total income. Conversely, the poorest one fifth can only manage 4.2% of the total income, while the poorest 40% take home 14% only (U.S. Department of State, 2011). The situation is the same and even worse in other parts of the world. In some places rac ial and religious difference greatly influence people access to various utilities, education, health care and others.Disparities in IranThe level of inequality in Iran has been on the increase in recent times.   The gap between the rich is always increasing when it is not stagnated. As result the disparities in incomes and wealth between the poor and the rich is always on the increase. Also the disparities in the country seem to be based on the ethnicity of individuals in the country. As Torof Aziz (n.d) points out a look language, literature, religion, folklore and customs of Iranian clearly points out cultural inequalities. Torof Aziz (n.d) further reports existence of economically and social disparities which he attributes to divisive and divisive policies that were adopted by former prime minister Shah, who used them to ensure that some citizens do not realize their full potential.Population Growth IssuesGeneral discussionWorldwide population is a critical issue that has linge red on the tongues of planners, economist, ecologists and others. Human population is increasing at an alarming rate especially in the developing countries. The impact of population have been felt by both genders worldwide, however, as it is always the case, women bare the greatest brute of population increase. For instance more than one woman passes away each minute each day totaling to 585, 000 women every day. A large number of women also suffer injuries and death as a result of violence, genital mutilation diseases and accident. Population increase is always attributed to the fertility of women which is in turn influenced be the economic standing of a woman, empowerment and education. Evidently, a large number of women compared to men lack them. China leads in terms of population growth and equally in terms of environmental degradation resulting from overpopulation. General, basic family planning education for women would go a long way in reducing the rate of population growth. In the United States of America population seem to be stabilizing. Data recorded in 2005 indicates that the country has a population of 299.8 million people and population density of about 0.03113, pop/sq km the urban population of 80.8%, an annual population growth of 1% and a fertility rate of 2 births per woman (UNDP, 2010).In IranRecent statics collected in 2006 indicate that 60% of the Iranian population is made up of young people bellow the age of 30 years. This population has come to be what it is in 20 years. The country has also experienced a drop in the rate of women fertility.   The fertility has greatly declined from 6 births per woman in the 70s to 2 births per woman in 2006. It is also amazing this decline has not only been felt in the urban areas but also in the rural areas (Roudi, 2011).Human capital IssuesGeneral DiscussionHuman capital is a critical fact for economic and social development in any country. Human capital can be defined as the collective competencies, personal attributes, and knowledge that affects or determines a person’s ability flourish, labor and bear economic value. It is a very critical aspect of education, training and health. Education and training ensure that an individual is equipped with the necessary skill to function properly or serve a particular purpose. Most government and organization in the world heavily invest in educating the citizens as well as training them to ensure that the country has a steady stream of skilled human capital. On the other hand, people need to be healthy order to work properly. It is therefore not surprising that many nations heavily invest in the health of their citizens’. In the US, human capital is considered a critical aspect for socio-economic well being. In fact, the Governments Accountability Office, in 2001, included “Strategic Human Capital Management,” on its high risk area list. Poor long term planning for critical positions has always been an obstacle to realization of consistency. The absence of result oriented culture in the health care departed has been one of the grates obstacles to the realization of consistency, although the problem is not limited to this department alon. In IranJust like America, Iran faces several challenges when it comes to development and improvement of human capital. The first notable challenge is educational challenge. Education and training are critical factors for development of a skilled human capital base yet Iran like fellow third world countries faces numerous challenges when it comes to providing education to its citizens (Moghaddam et al, 2008). Similarly, Iran faces healthcare issues similar to those faced by developing countries. In the long run Iran, like her fellow third world countries has to occasional depend on the services of expatriates to boot her human capital abilities.Physical Infrastructure (physical capital investment) issuesGeneral DiscussionPhysical infrastructure consists of tangible infrastr ucture items such as communication and transport networks. Physical infrastructure is developed through capital investments. The infrastructure is important for the socio-economic development of the country since it enables the country mobility of other factors of development. According to United States General Accounting Office (2001) a nation’s physical infrastructure is made up of a wide collection of facilities and systems which hot and move people and goods and grant services. This may include federal buildings, airports, roads, housing, rail, telecommunication and postal service. Developed countries like the US have well developed physical infrastructure while the opposite is the case for developing countries.In IranIran being a third world country certainly has a long way to go before she can boost of well developed infrastructure. The country is characterized by limited physical investment. The underdevelopment of infrastructure is certainly a product of past poor capital investment priorities such as the big push of the 1970s.Urbanization/Rural Development/ Migration/Informal Economy IssuesGeneral discussionIn many places in the world, there are disparities between urbanization and rural development. Most of the development is concentrated in the urban centers, a factor that encourages people to migrate from rural areas to urban center seeking to benefit from the economic development on the cities through acquisition of jobs. Sometime, the migration surpasses the infrastructure in the cities such as housing facilities leading to development of informal settlement popularly known as slums. Evidently, developed countries have a large number of urbanized populations than developing onesIn IranAccording to Aminmansour (2007) Iran urbanization is uneven. The rate of urbanization is about 1.9% annual. About 71% of the population is urbanized. The government of Iran also emphasizes rural development and has developed polices as well as initiated developmen t project aimed at realizing rural development (Shakoori, 2001). Most of these projects are agricultural in nature.   Despite all this efforts the rate of rural-urban migration remains high.Environmental problems impact of global warming on your countryGeneral DiscussionEnvironmental problems and global warming are modern day natural problems that are threatening the continued existence of humanity in the world. There are numerous environmental problem most of them brought about by human activities while a few are products of natural phenomenon. Global warming on the other hand is the ongoing increase in the atmospheric temperatures brought about by increased green house effect. The increase in the greenhouse effect is a product of increased emission of greenhouses gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by humans.In IranLike it is in most countries the common environmental issues in Iran include motor vehicle emission especially in the urban areas, poor air quality due to industrial effluents, and emissions from refinery activities. Leaded fuel is commonly used yet most vehicles have nor emissions control facilities. However, the country has several initiatives in the pipeline aimed at dealing away with the environmental problems.   The country is also a signatory to various international environmental protocol and agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol.Financial crisis affecting your countryGeneral DiscussionThe global financial crisis was characterized by a worldwide economic meltdown that saw many countries around the world experience reduced economic activities.   Financial crises of this nature are normally detrimental especially on transitional and developing economies such as that of    IranIran perspectiveIran like the rest of the world economies was neither spare by the financial meltdown. The country had to put up with reduced economic avidities. There was reduced rate of exports thus resulting in reduced national income.Economic theory of developmentGeneral discussionThe Neoclassical counterrevolution theory postulate the chaotic situation in developing countries is a product of poor government plans and polices. These countries have so many bad polices that are the foundation of their problems.Neoclassical counterrevolution and Iran economic developmentIndeed, this is totally evident in Iran. The Neoclassical counterrevolution theory can clearly explain why despite Iran being one of the largest producer of the most valuable source of energy in the world, “the Black Gold” experience gross economic development setback and is still underdeveloped compared to other oil producers in the middle east. Iran is still a third world country. As Verdinejad (2010) observes the government policy has not at all facilitated the country to improve its economic health and eliminate poverty using its lucrative resource. Instead, the policy enabled a few individual to increase their wealth at the expense of the nation. Such polici es include the policies to fund military activities and privatization of government enterprises and oil resource without regard to wealth creation and realization of social justice. Problems that can be attributed to these failures include poverty, continued neocolonialism and inequalities.CorruptionGeneral discussionCorruption is the misuse of authority or ones position with an aim of making personal selfish goals. Corruption is common in many places in the world especial in the developing countries where it has virtually paralyzed all the activities of the countries. A lot of tax payers’ money has also been swindled from government treasury. However, there are countries that have tried to fight corruption worldwide.Iran perspectiveCorruption level in Iran is on the decline. The level had been high due to mismanagement of funds. Evidently most of the Iranians associate their current economic quagmire with various regimes that openly engaged in corrupt activities. Reformist’s re gimes have however tried to reduce the level of corruption which provides an explanation concerning the declining corruption in the country.crimeGeneral DiscussionCrime is the contravening of rules, laws or regulations stipulated by a given authority. Around the world crime is a common thing. Criminal engage in crime to benefit from material things such as stolen property or money. Different areas are also characterized by different crimes.Crime in IranIran experiences a range of crimes ranging from Drug traffic, human trafficking, oil smuggling, terrorism and alcohol smuggling. Drug trafficking is however the greatest crime in the country. The drug traffickers use the country as a transshipment point for originating for Southern parts of Asia such as heroin which is on transit to Europe.