Political Economy of Development: An Analysis of the Role of State in Iranian Underdevelopment Process

important issues for policy makers and researchers in political economy in recent years. Many economists believe that governments should abandon their holding activities and engage in governance activities because government interference in the conduct of activities on the one hand prevents the government from performing its gove rning functions properly. In addition, state ownership means competition in the economy. This in itself means inefficiency, reduced productivity and reduced production, which ultimately become obstacles to development. The present study uses Friedman's eco nomic theory based on the role of the government in the economy to analyze the political economy of the Iranian government and to investigate the factors affecting the economic underdevelopment of this country. The structure of Iran's economy shows that Ir an has not experienced a free economy due to its dependence on oil revenues since the birth of the modern government, which results from the lack of experience of commercial and international capitalism dependent on the private sector. The government has f aced widespread. Secondly, due to the existence of such a nature in the historical process of Iran, its economic structure with issues such as excessive government interference in the economy, undisputed and monopoly domination of the economy, weak privati zation and excessive dependence on oil revenues. Finally, in its historical context, Iran has faced crises such as trade deficit, inflation, bank debt, weak domestic and foreign investment due to the government centered econom

State economy Expansive state Economic development Monopolistic state