Assessing the Function of Metropolises in Economic Globalization (Comparative Study of Tehran and Istanbul)

Economic globalization refers to the integration of national economy into global economy. Infrastructure, potentiality and proportionate competencies are needed for integration into the economic globalization. In this regard, the metropolises of developing countries have these requirements and pave the ground for entering into economic globalization. Therefore, highlighting the status of metropolises and examining their function in economic globalization are taken to be of high significance. Accordingly, the aim of the present research is to compare two metropolises, i.e. Tehran and Istanbul, based on the indices of economic globalization in terms of diverse institutions and organizations. In addition, it assesses the function of these two metropolises in global economy. The methodology of this study is descriptive-analytical. Firstly, context, weak and strong points of these two metropolises and influential policies in the context in relation to the variables of this research were analyzed in order to compare the indices. Then, the independent two-sample t-test was applied to evaluate the function of these two metropolises. The results of this test indicated that the highest rates of difference related to the number of foreign companies index (T=-27/633), imports (T=-10/301), exports (T=-7/435), avionics network function (T=-7/039) and foreign direct investment (T=-4/276), respectively. On the contrary, the lowest rate of different pertained to internet infiltration coefficient (T=-2/5). By considering the indices in descriptive, analytical and inferential terms, the results of this research demonstrate that Istanbul’s function has been stronger than Tehran’s in all the indices