An investigation of Cost and Benefit Analysis of Trade Protection in Iran with Gravity Model

Given the trade limitations, the evaluation of its effects is necessary. Therefore, export and import functions of Iran with 84 trade partners are estimated, based on an extended gravity model with panel data (for the time period of 2001 to 2005), by the so called fixed effect method. Our findings indicate that the simultaneous reduction of Iran's and its trade partner's protection indexes will increase both export and import of Iran and the percentage increase in export is more than that of import. But the increase in import is much more than that of export, meaning that Iran’s non-oil trade balance will deteriorate. This was considered for different hypothetical but probable levels of protection index of 1 (full free trade) till 2.5 and observed that, in present situation, reduction of level of protection would worsen Iran’s non-oil trade balance.