The Effect of Economic Development on Social Inequality in Tehran Metropolis

Every society in its development process is inevitably faced with a range of different social damages and problems. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of economic development on social inequality in Tehran metropolis. This study can reveal the efficiency of economic development and identify its strengths and weaknesses. Then the theories of classical experts and new theorists in the field of economic development and social inequality were studied and from these studies, indicators were selected to examine the effect of economic development on social inequality in Tehran metropolis. This research has been done through documentary and statistical method during the period of 2006-2011. Pearson and Spearman correlation tests were used to test the hypotheses. Research findings show that there is no significant relationship between economic development and social inequality in Tehran metropolitan area, although with increasing level of development some degree of social inequality was observed. This suggests that Tehran's metropolis is in early stage of economic development.