Behrooz Hadi Zonooz
Volume 2, Issue 6 , October 2000, Pages 7-38
Abstract
The Present research is an attempt to investigate the effects of Iran's trade strategy on the Performance of the country's manufacturing sector during 1979-1998.I have formulated three working hypotheses as follows: (i) Import substitution strategy depending on petroleum export promotion, being inherently ...
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The Present research is an attempt to investigate the effects of Iran's trade strategy on the Performance of the country's manufacturing sector during 1979-1998.I have formulated three working hypotheses as follows: (i) Import substitution strategy depending on petroleum export promotion, being inherently vulnerable, leads to foreign exchange constraintsin the long run. (ii) In Iran, industrial protectionism and extensive state intervention in the goods, capital, and foreign exchange markets over the past two decades have led to static inefficiency in the resource allocation of the economy in the sense that the benefits and costs of economic enterprises have deviated from the social benefits and costs. And (iii) the long-term pursuance of import substitution strategy braced with a persistent policy of non-selective, unconditional protection without any targeted time limit, have produced considerable damaging effects on the dynamism of the long run industrial growth.Concerning a financial incentive system, the present research has revealed certain significant points as follows: (a) the pattern of protection can be characterized as disorganized, ambiguous and arbitrary. To substantiate the point, calculations have been made to identity the nominal and the effective rates of protection (ERP) for four major branches of industry. Using the conclusion, it is inferred that, concerning the operational extension of protection, differentiation has not been made between old manufacturing branches and modern industries. (b) Not only is the pattern of protection arbitrary, but the objectives of protection are not tailored with any targeted time-span.Industrial performance has not been evaluated in relation to export promotion, production quality improvement, or cost reduction of output per unit. In spite of the already tried and failed experiences from the previous rigime showing industrial development strategy relying on single foreign exchange earnings of petroleum is vulnerable, the revolutionary government, for reasons of ideolgical considerations and without any economic evaluation of domestic and international circumstances enthusiastically patronised the policy of self-sufficiency and self-reliance.The policy which has been advocated for a long time, has failed realize the sweeping implications of globalisation in the world economy and the domestic economy's urgent need for non-oil export promotion.
Jamshid Pazhooyan; Teymur Mohamadi
Volume 2, Issue 6 , October 2000, Pages 39-62
Abstract
According to textbook arguments marginal cost pricing scores first on the effciency ground. However,if the monopolistic firm benefits from increasing returns to scale, the industry will not be financially viable. If this is the case, one option, which maximizes the welfare subject to a break-even constraint, ...
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According to textbook arguments marginal cost pricing scores first on the effciency ground. However,if the monopolistic firm benefits from increasing returns to scale, the industry will not be financially viable. If this is the case, one option, which maximizes the welfare subject to a break-even constraint, is Ramsey Pricing. In this study this method of pricing is applied to the Iranian Electricity Industry.The prices are offered for different types of usage (residential, agricultural, public and commercial). The present study applies the direct price elasticity of demand for each usage as well as the marginal cost of producing, transmitting and distributing electricity.These prices are cpmputed by using a programme in MATLAB environment for peak and off-peak periods. Finally, the resulting welfare changes arising from applying Ramsey Pricing as an alternative model are estimated, and proven to be positive on balance.
Mahmoud Khataie; Pejman Abedifar
Volume 2, Issue 6 , October 2000, Pages 63-84
Abstract
Data over the period 1988-1997 relating to 10 Iranian Banks are used to estimate their technical efficiencies. The translog stochastic production function assumed for the estimation of the technical efficiency of Iranian banks expressed in terms of four input variables: the number of employees, fixed ...
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Data over the period 1988-1997 relating to 10 Iranian Banks are used to estimate their technical efficiencies. The translog stochastic production function assumed for the estimation of the technical efficiency of Iranian banks expressed in terms of four input variables: the number of employees, fixed assets, and three types of deposits, where total loans are regarded as output. The two models applied in this paper are Battese and Coelli, (1992), and Battese and Coelli, (1995). The technical efficiencies of the banks, using these models, are estimated, on average, to be 79.8 percent and 78.3 percent. In addition, the technical efficiencies are directly related to total assets, type of banks, the ratio of the number of branches located in Tehran, but inversly related to the ratio of loans granted under Mozarebeh and Mosharekat-e-Madani contracts, and the ratio of bank employees qualified with university education.
Ahmad Mojtahed; Mohamadreza Farzin
Volume 2, Issue 6 , October 2000, Pages 85-116
Abstract
Steel production is considered as a mother industry playing perhaps the most fundamental role in all aspects of national economy. Steel production has traditionally been a state monopoly in Iran, although some private sector investment has been encouraged in recent years. Major plants at present are ...
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Steel production is considered as a mother industry playing perhaps the most fundamental role in all aspects of national economy. Steel production has traditionally been a state monopoly in Iran, although some private sector investment has been encouraged in recent years. Major plants at present are the Ahwaz Steel Mill in Khuzestan province, and the Isfahan Steel Mill and Mobarakeh steel complex in Isfahan province. They are operated by the state National Steel Corporation with the prices administered by the government.The present study is an attempt to analyze the effects of protectionism in the steel industry in Iran to find out circumstances in which the industry may operate in a competetive environment in the future. We have applied three major factors assumed to be effective criteria in determining the consequences of state protection measures in steel production. They are: Nominal Protection Rate, Effective Protection Rate, and Domestic Resource Cost (DRC). To present a reasonable criteria, shadow pricing method is used for foreign exchange rate, energy cost, costs of primary resources (labour and capital), and non-tradeable inputs to construct input-output table for the 1990 and 1995 figures.The analysis reveals that protectionist policy in the steel industry is highly sensitive to changes in the exchange rate and costs of energy since the effects of tariff and non-tariff protection measures are heavily influenced by them. There exists apparently comparative advantages in steel production under protectionist policy. But steel production would not be economically viable and competetive if energy costs are charged using the world energy pries. In this paper, we suggest using the remoral of protection measures through a well-prepared short-term scheme to make the steel industry capable of adapting to new circumstances of world competition awaiting all major industrial production.
Mohammad Asiai
Volume 2, Issue 6 , October 2000, Pages 117-132
