The Impact of Government Rental on the Democratization Function of the Modern Middle Class

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

TARBIAT MODARES UNIVERSITY

10.30510/psi.2022.266644.1440

Abstract

The formation of social classes in Iran, developments and relations between them and their relationship with the government are strongly influenced by oil revenues. In Iran, the modern middle class was not born from the womb of production. That is why it is necessary to change the modern middle class of Iran from a dependent class to a productive and independent class. In this study, while examining the emergence and nature of the modern middle class in Iran, we investigate the role of the rentier government in the formation and expansion of the modern middle class. In general, three causal mechanisms can be introduced to explain the impact of a government benefiting from oil rents on the modern middle class: Rantier effect, suppression effect and modernization effect. Based on the presented economic-political analysis in relation to the influence of the ninth and tenth governments on the modern middle class of Iran, the following two conclusions can be drawn: First, the modern middle class of Iran has grown quantitatively due to the increase in oil revenues in the period 1384 to 1392. Second, this positive oil rent shock has had a significant negative impact on the functioning of a strong and independent middle class. To test the second hypothesis, data on good governance have been used.

Keywords

Political Sociology of Iran
Volume 5, Issue 4
August 2022

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