پژوهشنامه اقتصادی
پیاپی 85 (تابستان 1401)

Although the importance of considering the capability approach in calculating poverty has been addressed in various studies, a major obstacle to achieving a measure like Alkire-Foster MPI in many countries is the lack of integrated micro indicators. In this study, we suggest a "repeated and random data generation" method using the macro amount of the missing indicator. Moreover, we apply this method to calculate and break down the acute poverty measure of Alkier and Foster in Iran. The results indicate that by using this method, we are able to achieve the desired level with very high precision. In addition, by breaking down multidimensional poverty into three dimensions of health, education, and standard of living, we show that during the last four decades, the share of educational deprivation in MPI is always increasing and has transformed into the most effective indicator in acute multidimensional poverty. Finally, by examining the characteristics of poor households, it can be noted that households with acute poverty have gradually become older, smaller, and less educated. Therefore, it seems that programs like subsidies to the entire society are no longer helpful for poverty reduction in Iran and it can be improved by better targeting and addressing educational deprivation.

This paper investigates the effects of rule-based prudential policies on the banks competition in the deposit market. Using the imperfect competition structure and focusing on heterogeneous banks, we develop a partial equilibrium model, under which implications of how capital adequacy ratio regulation is implemented either discriminatory between banks (micro) or non-discriminatory and uniformly for all banks (macro) will be analyzed. Among the features that are emphasized in this analytical model is the role of self-regulation of bank capital in building confidence in the banking network in a non-linear manner. This, in a range of capital adequacy ratios, has featured the use of that prudential policy tool as a self-defeating one for the policymaker's goal in curbing the portion of high-risk projects in the targeted bank's assets portfolio. Further, a channel to explain the role of monetary policy in establishing stability or fragility of the banking network is introduced. In particular, the role of investors' degree of risk aversion in motivating banks to set their monitoring efforts has been evaluated.

According to principles 29, 31, and 43 of the Constitution of Iran, one of the goals of the Islamic Republic is to deal with poverty and economic and social inequality in the country, and for this purpose, two strategies have been followed in parallel after the revolution. One of these strategies was the extension and side assistance of the government to fight against poverty and deprivation. In this context, the government implemented policies and plans in the form of economic and social development plans. Therefore, according to this necessity, the aim of the current research is to investigate the impact of economic growth on poverty: comparative studies of the first and third development plans. The results of the estimation of the research model based on the autoregression method with distributed lag indicate that economic growth (from 1978 to 2021) has a positive and significant effect on poverty in the long term, while economic growth (the first and third development plans) and oil rents have a negative and significant effect on poverty, and social security expenses have no effect on poverty in the long term. Therefore, it can be said that economic growth alone is not enough to deal with poverty, but along with the dynamic growth process, improved infrastructure for society (including the poor) and institutional reforms should be implemented in parallel.

The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of transportation infrastructure on the energy efficiency of the industry in the provinces of Iran. The rapid growth of industries in the world during the last few years has led to an increase in energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Energy efficiency contribute to economic growth, energy security, reduction of greenhouse gases, and energy sustainability. One of the factors affecting energy efficiency is transportation infrastructure, which, as the main capital of social development, can affect energy efficiency through various mechanisms. These infrastructures can have different effects on energy efficiency from the channels of the economy of scale, the effect of technology spillover and other external factors, and the effect of competition between production enterprises. We apply a panel threshold model to approximate the threshold effect of transportation infrastructure on industrial energy efficiency using data of 31 provinces of Iran from 2006 to 2019. The results showed that the transportation infrastructures have a non-linear effect on energy efficiency so that when the logarithm of real GDP is higher than the second threshold (15/66), transportation infrastructures significantly improve energy efficiency, and when the logarithm of GDP is lower than the first threshold (14/64), the expansion of this type of infrastructure reduces the energy efficiency of the industry, and between the two thresholds of transportation infrastructure, it does not affect the energy efficiency of the industry. In addition, technological progress and energy prices also have a positive and, significant effect on industrial energy efficiency.

Economic complexity refers to the accumulation of productive capabilities in an economy. Accelerating the accumulation of these capabilities increases the capacity to invent and absorb new technologies. Over the initial stages of economic development, most countries absorb energy-intensive technologies, which will lead to an increase in fossil energy consumption. By increasing the economic complexity of a country and the accumulation of complex capabilities, it becomes possible to absorb and invent new energy-efficient and clean technologies, which will be a factor in reducing the intensity of fossil energy consumption. In this paper, we investigate the effect of the economic complexity of Iran's provinces on the consumption of fossil energy over the period 2005-2018. For this purpose, the system GMM estimator in dynamic panel data has been applied. The results of the paper indicate that the increase in the economic complexity of the provinces is the driver of fossil energy consumption, so that the hypothesis of the "Energy-Environmental Kuznets Curve" across the provinces of the country is rejected. Accordingly, making the current production structure more complex in Iran's economy will not help to reduce fossil energy consumption. Other results show that (a) the per capita consumption of fossil energy is inelastic with respect to the relative price of fuel, and (b) the rate of urbanization is the driver of energy consumption. According to the findings of the research, it is recommended that instead of implementing pricing policies to reduce energy consumption, the government should emphasize changing the production structure by using clean technologies.

One of the basic requirements for sustainable growth and development is the existence of an efficient financial sector to finance production activities. In this regard, the present study has estimated the probability of bankruptcy of banks employing the Altman index and using evidence from the banking industry for 18 public and private banks in the period from 2016 to 2021. Using the panel data approach, the influencing factors in the probability of bankruptcy are also investigated. Estimates from the panel approach show that credit diversification is effective in reducing the probability of bankruptcy. Similar evidence shows that the probability of bankruptcy for private banks is equal to 68% and for public banks 70%. The calculation of the Herfindahl-Hirschman concentration index has also shown a value of 0.33 for Iran's private banks and 0.63 for state banks, so credits in private banks have a higher diversity than in state banks. According to the results of the research, more attention should be paid to diversifying credits in public and private banks, determining the optimal size of banks to take advantage of economies of scale, monitoring the central bank's compliance with Basel index standards and monitoring the maintenance of banks' cash balances for the unforeseen demand of the society.