Economics is a stranger in Iran.
As a science, it is a source of dispute between those who don’t see economics as a field of science and analyze economic problems through an ideological angle, and those who try to inject rationality in the economic policymaking.
Hossein Haqgou, an economist, prefaced his write-up for the Persian daily Shargh with this note. Below is a translation of the text:
Sadly, economics has no place in the Iranian governance; it remains on the periphery of politics. Governments believe that they do not need the science of economics and problems could be solved by issuing directives. Even a large group of intellectuals undervalue economics and complain about little attention that has been directed toward it in recent years.
For example, Morad Saqafi, an Iranian journalist and political analyst, says, “Our intellectuals have very much become engaged in economics-oriented discourses ever since the 2001s ... It would have been better if economics was synonymous with the ideas of [Karl] Polanyi, [Albert Otto] Hirschmann, Amartya [Kumar] Sen who can be classified as humanist economists, but economic discourse has become so shallow that no one bothers about the above-mentioned thinkers … It is said that economics is everything ... Economics is toxic; of course, we are not the only ones involved in this; it is a global issue.”
The problem lies in the fact that Iranian governments and intellectuals have for decades belittled the importance of wealth production, thanks to our oil and mineral resources, and instead brought the fair distribution of wealth into relief.
They didn’t feel the need to learn about the basic components of economics; it was enough for them to come to power and appoint like-minded peers and whenever a problem arrived, they could issue directives or allocate resources, or try to fix inflation through imports, or unemployment through allocation of loan or food packages.
The problem lies in the fact that Iranian governments and intellectuals have for decades belittled the importance of wealth production, thanks to our oil and mineral resources, and instead brought the fair distribution of wealth into relief
Within the same mentality, the private sector, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs were billed as intruders meddling with government-oriented development. Unfortunately, such an approach were not, are not and will not be effective; there’s no way but to learn about economics and subjects such as price, supply and demand system, inflation, budget deficit, exchange rate, interest rate and energy prices.
Here, as Masoud Nili, the eminent economist, says, it might be better to start from people.
“We must promote the teachings of economics as much as possible. We need to increase awareness about economic issues because the policymaker’s problem is not just his own. The policies that society demands are a continuation of the same policies, i.e., the politician should do what the society wants him to do. The more we raise people’s awareness about economics, the closer we get to reform. Our journey might be very long, but there is no other way. We should try to promote economics as it is.”
People must know that there is a direct correlation between inflation and government’s spending splurge, and budget deficit and relentless money printing, and that inflation is different from price gouging while governments try to characterize these two as one; they disrupt the price system via policing and simply deceive people. These measures won’t lead to a decline in prices; rather, fear and worries and decline in supply and investment lead to a price hike.
Investment is the cure of unemployment. The prerequisite for investment is to uphold the right to own property, freedom to trade — the freedom to exchange goods and services openly with others, stability of policies, and reduction in uncertainties. You cannot create jobs by giving out cheap loans; such rents only lead to more corruption.
Improvement in the quality of domestic products is contingent upon the removal of restrictions and monopolies, and the creation of a competitive environment and collaboration with the world. You can’t promote Iranian products by sloganeering or command.
Prejudices against many economic principles have been galore in our country for decades; they were mischaracterized as insignificant theories belonging to liberals, neoliberals and naïve academicians.
Economics is not an all-encompassing science, no question about that, but it is significant enough to be included among our pedagogical priorities for at least 10 to 20 years.
About two and a half centuries have passed since the publication of one of the textbooks on economics, i.e., the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. Only one translation of this book has been published in Iran and that too in recent years. Compare this with the publication of various ideological, anti-classical economic books. It is a false analogy to compare the quality and quantity of scientific and educational institutions in the world and those of Iran in the area of economics.
Perhaps if we double down efforts to acquire and promote this science, we’ll end up in a better place; even our intellectuals will find an opportunity to think about important issues.
Saqafi says, “These days, financial woes are taking their toll on many people. As a result, it is not possible to employ a one-size-fits-all approach; it is not easy to tell someone who is preoccupied with making ends meet to think.”
