Iran: A Long Way to Go for a Free Economy

The American foundation "Heritage" has published its annual report categorizing various countries around the world, including Iran, based on economic freedom. Before discussing Iran, let's take a look with Fereydoun Khavand, an economics professor in Paris, at the Heritage Foundation and the criteria used by this organization to assess the degree of economic freedom in a country... Fereydoun Khavand: The Heritage Foundation is an influential American think tank based in Washington, and its publications and activities aim to promote liberalization in both economic and political spheres. The annual report of this foundation regarding the classification of countries based on economic freedom is of interest to academic and expert circles in many countries, including Iran. There are important specialized publications in Iran that refer to the Heritage evaluation of economic freedom. In this institution's assessment to estimate the degree of freedom, four main criteria are used: rule of law, size of government, regulatory efficiency, and open markets. Each of these four main criteria is categorized around three sub-criteria, for which a maximum score of one hundred is considered. Based on this, countries are divided into five groups: free, mostly free, mostly unfree, and finally repressed. Among the 180 countries examined, Hong Kong is the freest, and North Korea is the most repressed. How does the Heritage Foundation view Iran? What position does Iran hold in this foundation's table regarding economic freedom? This year, the Heritage Foundation has given Iran a better score compared to 2016. Last year, Iran ranked 171st in terms of economic freedom and belonged to the group of repressed economies. This year, Iran has moved up sixteen places to rank 155 and is classified in the group of mostly unfree economies. This shift is attributed to improvements in Iran's ranking in areas such as property rights and business freedom. However, overall, Iran still has a long way to go to achieve a truly free economy. How does Iran compare to its neighbors? What position does it hold in terms of economic freedom in the region? In this regard, Iran's situation is not defined, as it ranks second to last among fourteen countries examined in the Middle East and North Africa regarding economic freedom. The freest economies in the region, according to the Heritage Foundation, belong to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Israel, while Algeria, Iran, and Egypt are at the bottom of the table.