An Analysis of the Impact of Third Sector's Development on the Economic Indices and its Development Solutions in Iran

The present article presents the development of the economy’s third sector (Waqf and charity foundations) as a solution for implementing Islamic economics and using the capacities of public economy that develops the cooperative and philanthropic transactions besides the market competition, and also describes following this path as a necessary condition for Iranian-Islamic development consistent with the economic knowledge. Besides introducing a new approach to the third sector’s organizations and institutions (like endowment and charities), this article aims to show its importance and positive impact on the economic indices and then provides guidelines for its being developed in Iran. In order to do so, using the library method and introducing a conceptual model, we interpret the third sector’s transactions with the other two sectors of the economy and, using a statistical analysis, analyze the impact of its development and growth on such economic indices as the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) and human development index (HDI). The results show that the development of the economy’s third sector has a significant positive impact on GDP and HDI. Finally, relying on these results, we present eleven guidelines for the development of the third sector in Iran.