Comparative Comparison of Effects of Smuggling Goods on the Development of Rural Settlements (Case Study: Commercial area of Dehsheikh in Fars Province and Gachin in Hormozgan Province)

The most important challenge for security in the border regions of the country is unemployment and locals’ dissatisfaction of economic activities. This problem makes people to earn money through all kinds of fake and informal jobs. One of the fake activities is the growth of the informal cross-border trades (smuggling). The aim of this study is to compare the economic, social and physical effects and consequences resulted from the expansion of the informal economical activities and its different reflections on the development of rural settlements located in the commercial area of Dehsheikh in Fars Province and Gachin in Hormozgan Province. This study is an applied research with cross-sectional design. Then data on the area and the subject were collected through surveys (questionnaires, observations and interviews). Based on Cochran formula, a total of 156 and 160 questionnaires have been completed in rural areas of Dehsheikh business district and Gachin village, respectively. According to Friedman, the average number of each 3 variables in Dehsheikh village is almost identical and have an almost identical distribution. However, the averages of the indexes of Gachin Village have a big difference with each other in such a way that economic indicators with an average score of 50.142 has the most influence and the social and physical indicators with the average scores of 35.4675 and 33.9935, respectively, had the least influence.