The Application of Analytical Hierarchy Process in Setting the Priorities of Economic Sectors in Iran: A Case Study of Neishabour County

Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is a robust and credible technique used for situations that conflicting criteria make decision making between several options problematic. Considering the particular conditions of Neishabour County and its development potentials in economic sectors and based on activities performed in the county, problems are identified by using Delphi technique, then using AHP, promoting and improving priorities of economic sectors in the county were identified. In this paper one of the applications of AHP in rural economic planning was used for prioritizing strategy of Neishabour economic sector. It can be used in the examination of issues related to rural development management considering its simplicity, simultaneous application of qualitative and quantitative criteria, and its potential to study consistency in judgments.