Investigating the Relative Importance of Agricultural Sector among Key Sectors of Iranian Economy Based on Social Accounting Matrix Approach

Due to the limited and scarcity of resources, determining the sectors in which investment stimulates the economy and causes more economic growth, has always been focused by many economic planners. Therefore, in the present study, the key sectors in the Iranian economy were determined by calculating the backward and forward linkages based on the 2011 social accounting matrix of the Islamic Parliament Research Center (IPRC). The results showed that in terms of backward linkage in the sectors of industry (4161.9 trillion rials), agriculture (1422.8 trillion rials), trade (1396.6 trillion rials) and services (1280.8 trillion rials) had priority over other sectors while in terms of forward linkage, the sectors of industry (6053.04 trillion rials), construction (2103.3 trillion rials), services (1992.2 trillion rials) and agriculture (1486.2 trillion rials) were respectively prioritized; in addition, the industrial, agricultural, and services sectors ranked higher in both the backward and forward linkages, respectively. Therefore, considering the determination of the mentioned key sectors, it is expected that directing resources and increasing investment in the development of these sectors can contribute to the economic growth of the country.