White Papers

The white paper traces Iran’s economic development trajectory from the 19th Century to the present. Throughout, the focus is on identifying the development models and institutional arrangements that have served to stimulate or detract from economic growth and development. The specific mechanisms through which Iran has attempted to generate economic growth over the years, starting with import-substituting industrialization, entrenching a knowledge-based economy, and, more recently, activating a startup movement that can potentially contribute to the establishment of an AI-centric innovation economy, are delineated and examined.

Authors: Mehdi S. Zarghamee, Yahya Tabesh, Dariush Zahedi, August 2020