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ID: 108485

Iran's free trade zones: back doors to the international economy / Hakimian, Hassan

Hakimian, Hassan	Journal Article
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Publication

2011.

Summary/Abstract

Since the late 1980s, Iran has pursued a policy of attracting foreign investment and fostering regional trade by granting favored status to the so-called "Free Trade-Industrial Zones" (FTZs) and "Special Economic Zones" (SEZs). To date six FTZs and sixteen SEZs have been set up throughout Iran. The FTZs are strategically positioned for their potential international links and have their eyes on markets beyond Iran, and the SEZs for their value in serving main industries and for improving the country's distribution system and supply network. This paper examines the experience of these zones in Iran in the context of Iran's contradictory and ambivalent approach to international economic integration in general. It is shown that liberal policies pursued in the free zones have been in marked contrast to the approach in the mainland, which has been generally inward-looking in much of the post-revolutionary period. We examine first the rise of free zones as a global phenomenon followed by an overview of Iran's zones and their characteristics. It is argued that serving mainly as "back doors" to the international economy, Iran's free zones have stalled mainly because their promotion has been decoupled from, if not at odds with, official attitudes to the international economy at large. As a result, the zones' ability to attract investment has been limited by both adverse external perceptions of Iran as an investment destination and internal complexities discouraging such investment.

Key Words

Iran ; International Economy ; Free Trade ; Free Trade zone

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ID: 123237

Last straw for Iran's economy?: history shows that sanctions have a poor record of success, argues / Hakimian, Hassan

Hakimian, Hassan	Journal Article
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Publication

2012.

Key Words

Economy ; Sanctions ; Iran ; Unemployment ; Obama ; Medicine ;
Iran's Economic Policy ; Foreign Exchange Markets

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ID: 060166

Oil, economic diversification and the democratic process in Ira / Karshenas, Massoud; Hakimian, Hassan

Mar 2005

Karshenas, Massoud	Journal Article
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Publication

Mar 2005.

Key Words

Energy Security ; Iran ; Iran-Economy ; Oil Diplomacy

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