Population and Employment in Iran: Systemic View

The size, structure and growth rate of the population have reciprocal and complicated relationships with social-economic conditions. Population characteristics play an important role in economical policy making and strategic planning of the country. Population can influence economy through supplying skilled and professional human resources as major input in economic sectors. On the other hand, economic and employment conditions of the country have important role in youth’s decision making with regard to marriage and childbearing.  Numerous studies have investigated the effect of employment and economical conditions on fertility or the effect of population age structure on economic characteristics, independently.  However, researches about simultaneous effects of these factors and interactions between these sectors within a single holistic model are scarce. In this paper, it is aimed to assess the reciprocal interaction between population variables (such as age structure, marriage, fertility), and economic factors (such as employment and occupational security, gross domestic income and welfare) using a systemic perspective and system dynamics approach. Precise and in-depth understanding of interactions between system components will assist managers to distinguish the structural causes of social-economic system behaviors, and also gain a better perspective towards challenges ahead. Obviously, using these results, planners and policy makers would be able to consider various aspects of decisions in comprehensive planning and policy makings in the country in order to achieve optimum efficiency in resource allocation.