Re: IRI at the BOTTOM of Worlds Economic Freedom List

My point is the IRI's closed economy (no/negative foreign investment, corruption , money in hands of "boniad's" w no transparency, vetoing many attempt to promote private services and companies,..... are NOT in IRAN's interest, no mater who reports them. Being next to N. Korea i snot a deserving place for Iran . We can do much better. Any other government would have been voted out of office many years ago with these records (if we had democracy)

mandela wrote:

I merely pointed to the about page..

to make sure reader knows the site is a conservative American site that's all..


"peace2006" <peace2006@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:Na3vf.2466$ZA2.2379@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

.. And your point is THEREFORE IRI economy is free ? !!!

mandela wrote:


" Our Mission
Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institute - a think tank - whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defence. "

http://www.heritage.org/about/


"peace2006" <peace2006@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:jC2vf.2935$%W1.335@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


IRI is 156th out of 157 countries (N Korea is last). Thanks to Barbaric Islam running the country for Iran's achievement

http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/countries.cfm



Click on thecountry (Iran) and here are the details


Iran
scores of past years for Iran

  * Rank: 156
  * Score: 4.51
  * Category: Repressed
  * View PDF
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Quick Study

  * Trade Policy4.5
  * Fiscal Burden3.6
  * Government Intervention5.0
  * Monetary Policy4.0
  * Foreign Investment5.0
  * Banking and Finance5.0
  * Wages and Prices4.0
  * Property Rights5.0
  * Regulation5.0
  * Informal Market4.0


* Population: 66,392,020
*
* Total area: 1,648,000 sq. km
*
* GDP: $113.9 billion
*
* GDP growth rate: 6.6%
*
* GDP per capita: $1,715
*
* Major exports: petroleum, iron and steel, carpets
*
* Exports of goods and services: $22.1 billion
*
* Major export trading partners: Japan 22.2%, China 9.9%, Italy 6.4%, South Korea 5.5%
*
* Major imports: intermediate goods and industrial raw materials, foodstuffs and other consumer goods
*
* Imports of goods and services: $31 billion
*
* Major import trading partners: Germany 10.8%, France 8.5%, China 8.3%, Italy 8.0%, United Arab Emirates 7.8%
*
* Foreign direct investment (net): –$1.3 billion
*
* 2003 Data (in constant 2000 US dollars)
*
*
*


Iran's economy was crippled by the 1979 Islamic revolution, the Iran–Iraq war, and widespread economic mismanagement. Hopes for reform were raised under former President Mohammed Khatami, but he was hamstrung by opposition from entrenched bureaucrats in state agencies and by Islamic hard-liners in the judiciary and other state institutions. Khatami and his allies suffered a major political defeat in the February 2004 legislative elections. Iran's new parliament has adopted more populist and nationalist economic policies while reversing President Khatami's tentative economic reforms. Reformers also were defeated in the June 2005 presidential election, which elevated Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the presidency. During the campaign, Ahmadinejad promised to give poor Iranians a greater share of the country's oil wealth and called for greater state control of the economy. Although high world oil prices have raised export revenues and helped to service Iran's large foreign debt, the country's state-dominated economy remains troubled by high unemployment, inflation, corruption, expensive subsidies, and a bloated and inefficient public sector. Iran's trade policy score is 2 points worse this year, and its capital flows and foreign investment score is 1 point worse. As a result, Iran's overall score is 0.3 point worse this year.
Trade Policy

  * Score: 4.5

According to the World Bank, Iran's weighted average tariff rate in 2004 was 14.8 percent, up

from the 3.1 percent in 2000 reported in the 2005 Index, based on World Bank data. The

European Commission Market Access Sectoral and Trade Barriers Database reports that sanitary and phytosanitary regulations are a non-tariff barrier and that the government bans imports of specified products. Based on the higher tariff rate, as well as a revision of the trade factor methodology, Iran's trade policy score is 2 points worse this year.
Fiscal Burden

  * Score: 3.6

Iran's top income tax rate is 35 percent. The top corporate tax rate is 25 percent. In 2003, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, government expenditures as a share of GDP increased 11 percentage points to 31 percent, compared to the 0.9 percentage point increase in 2002.
Government Intervention

  * Score: 5.0

The World Bank reports that the government consumed 14 percent of GDP in 2003. In the same year, according to the International Monetary Fund's Government Financial Statistics CD–ROM, Iran received 53.83 percent of its total revenues from state-owned enterprises and government ownership of property. However, the Economist Intelligence Unit reports that "major sectors (such as oil and gas, transport, telecommunications, industry, and banking and finance) remain overwhelmingly under the purview of the state and its entities. The state directly owns well over 500 companies, and there are another 1,000 or so semi-public companies." Based on the apparent unreliability of the reported figure for government consumption, 1 point has been added to Iran's government intervention score.
Monetary Policy

  * Score: 4.0


From 1995 to 2004, Iran's weighted average annual rate of inflation was 15.04 percent. 

Foreign Investment

  * Score: 5.0

In May 2002, the government updated its foreign investment code for the first time in over 50 years by enacting the Law on the Attraction and Protection of Foreign Investment. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, however, "The conservative-dominated Majlis (parliament)…have objected to giving banking, telecommunications, transport, and border control responsibilities to foreign firms." Article 44 of Iran's constitution mandates state ownership of power generation, postal services, telecommunications, and other large-scale industries. According to the EIU, "The Expediency Council moved in October 2004 to resolve these constitutional issues by interpreting Article 44 to allow for the sale of 65% of the shares of state-owned enterprises, except for defence and security-related industries and the National Iranian Oil Company." The Economist reports that Iran's constitution forbids foreigners to own any concessions, operate projects, or participate in production-sharing agreements in the oil and gas sector. The government instead uses a buy-back system where foreign companies that finance and develop a project are reimbursed in dollars. The Majlis has given itself the power to veto projects in which foreign investors have a majority stake and has blocked two proposed investments. The International Monetary Fund reports that most payments, transfers, credit operations, and capital transactions are subject to limitations, quantitative limits, or approval requirements. Based on the evidence of the government's anti–foreign investment policies, Iran's foreign investment and capital flows score is 1 point worse this year.
Banking and Finance

  * Score: 5.0

All banks were nationalized following the 1979 revolution. Iran's constitution requires that the banking sector be fully state-owned. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, "The central bank issued a licence in August 2001 to Bank-e-Eqtesadi Novine (Modern Economic Bank), making it Iran's first private bank since the sector was nationalised in the aftermath of the 1979 revolution…. Other private banks established in Iran include the Karafarin Bank, which received a full-service banking licence in December 2001, and Saman Bank, in August 2002." Private banks are extremely small, however, and the state dominates banking activity. The ability of banks to charge interest is restricted under Iran's interpretation of Islamic law. "The bulk of commercial banks' loan portfolio," reports the EIU, "is taken up with low-return loans to state agencies and parastatals…."
Wages and Prices

  * Score: 4.0

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, "Iran does not regulate pricing for most commercial products with the exception of fuel (such as petrol, natural gas or diesel) and wheat for the production of bread." The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that Iran provides about $3 billion in subsidies to lower the price of oil. The government also affects prices through its extensive state-owned enterprises and sets minimum wages for each sector and region.
Property Rights

  * Score: 5.0

"The rule of law in Iran is inconsistent and unsatisfactory," reports the Economist Intelligence Unit. "Recourse to the courts is unwieldy and often counter-productive and rarely leads to the swift resolution of outstanding disputes…. Few foreign firms have had satisfactory experiences when seeking to bring a contract dispute before a court." In addition, "written agreements offer very little protection for the contracting party. Foreign companies often find that engaging an influential, and experienced, local business partner who also enjoys substantial political patronage is the most effective form of protection."
Regulation

  * Score: 5.0

The government effectively discourages the establishment of new businesses. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, "The most common form of company in Iran is the joint-stock company, or sherkat-e sahami, in which the liability of a shareholder is limited to the capital invested in the company." In addition, "Contract negotiations are often lengthy, prolonged by the exhaustive details demanded by state agencies, and the slow functioning bureaucracy, which often requires approval from an extensive number of higher officials before legal agreement can be concluded." The EIU reports that corruption is a continuing problem.
Informal Market

  * Score: 4.0

Transparency International's 2004 score for Iran is 2.9. Therefore, Iran's informal market score is 4 this year.

http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/country.cfm?id=Iran







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