Effects of Smuggling on the Economic of Border Villages of Iran

Smuggling goods is one of the trading forms which its formation backs to the time of creating borders and economic laws governing on these areas. This form of trading، inspite of having economical losses for the country، has a great importance For the inhabitants of border areas especially for the villagers، because in most cases، it is considered as the only source of income for the villagers who live near the borders. In this research، the economic effects of smuggling on rural areas of “Khav and Mirabad “district as a rural border in the West of Iran (Marivan Township) has been reviewed. The total residents of the area were 11849 families and the number of samples was 133 families. The villages were classified into three categories according to their distance from the border line (far، middle and near) among them 5 villages were studied as the sample. The number of samples were selected based on the ratio of the number of families of each village. For field studies، the questionnaire was designed in two levels of families and villages. Correlation analysis of the research variables was performed using SPSS software. The results indicate wide smuggling in this area due to the proximity of international borders with Iraq، which has a positive effect on the people’s life in the fields of employment، income and also on other economical existing sections in this area and these effects are more sever in the villages near the boarders. And finally، unemployment and weaknesses of economical activities in the region have been identified as the most important reasons of villager''s tendency for smuggling.