Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Departman of Economics , Faculty of Economics and Management , University of Tabriz
2 PH.D student in institutional economics, University of Tabriz, Faculty of Economics and Management
Abstract
The repeated failure of structural adjustment policies in Iran has challenged the prevailing belief in their effectiveness. This paper adopts a problem-oriented approach, considering local conditions, to examine the economic roots of the shock therapy policy and its consequences for Iran’s economy over the past three decades. By analyzing key factors influencing democracy—such as civil society, crises, revenue sources, inequality, the middle class, globalization, and the internet—it concludes that structural adjustment policies have weakened the foundations for democratic development.
Given the socio-economic consequences of these policies, including poverty, unemployment, stagflation, and violence, their implementation has only been possible through undemocratic imposition. To enable participatory and democratic economic decision-making, this paper proposes several key measures: (1) acknowledging the crisis and taking responsibility; (2) establishing an autonomous bureaucracy and testing policy alternatives; (3) critically utilizing international experiences while exercising patience in national reforms; and (4) strengthening an organized society to counter the free-rider problem.
Furthermore, the paper emphasizes that any transition planning must consider the logic of the natural state, which maintains a limited access order in decision-making and resource allocation. Without such awareness, conventional economic approaches may, in the name of transition, further entrench violence and disorder rather than facilitating progress.
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