Conflict of Interest and Housing Policy-Making

Conflict of interest is a blight on governance, as it affects many economic sectors, housing in particular. 
The rise in urban land prices followed the rapid growth of home prices in the 1970s. This turned urban land into a commercial commodity, resulting in wide-scale public investment. The process came to a halt in the first decade following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, but regained momentum in the 1990s. Over the past three decades, it has had deleterious effects on the national economy and the livelihood of low-income households. 
Nasser Zakeri, an economist, prefaced his write-up for the Persian daily Shargh with this note. A translation of the text follows: