Investigating the Position of Oil Revenues in the Five Development Programs (1949-1978) during the Pahlavi Era

Iran is the first country in the Middle East where oil was produced and the first country whose oil industry was nationalized. Oil has always been the most important source of foreign exchange earnings and one of the main sources of development programs and annual budgets in Iran. Oil price fluctuations and impulses, and their direct impact on government revenues in different eras have caused changes in the economic, political, and social spheres. The purpose of this research is to investigate the position, part, and importance of the oil revenues in the first to fifth development programs during the Pahlavi era. This research is qualitative, and the data collection method is based on archival sources with a descriptive-historical method for data analysis. The results of the research showed that the reduction and elimination of oil revenues after the boycott of this industry (due to the nationalization of the oil industry) was the main reason for the failure of the first development program, which did not reach its goals. Nevertheless, in the second development program, oil has been one of the main economic growth sectors of this plan. Although in the second development program, the service sector had the most important role, from 1963 onwards, the oil sector was again considered the main sector of Iran's economy until the end of the fifth development program. In the third and fourth programs, oil is placed as the main support for the remarkable success and proper growth of these plans. Therefore, from the third development program to the end of the Pahlavi era, the oil production amount and incomes increased. After the feverish increase of oil prices in the world markets in the early 1970s, the forecast of a sharp increase in oil revenues was one of the main factors for the revision of the fifth development program.