نشریه اقتصاد شهری
سال هفتم شماره 2 (پاییز و زمستان 1401)

The consumption of energy has led to severe global challenges in terms of climate change and environmental issues. Household appliances are widely used products that consume significant amounts of electricity. Therefore, among energy consumers, the household sector plays a crucial role in terms of energy consumption patterns and levels. This is because, with the improvement of household living standards and the necessity of using household appliances, the demand for electrical energy is increasing, and there will always be a risk of energy waste in this sector. Extensive use of energy-efficient appliances contributes to energy conservation, resource efficiency, and the development of a low-carbon economy. Therefore, in these circumstances, providing appropriate solutions to reduce energy consumption and household expenses is essential. The utilization of energy-efficient technologies in the household sector is of particular importance. In this research, based on a comprehensive model grounded in planned behavior theory and perceived value literature, the determination of the factors influencing the acceptance of energy-efficient washing machines and refrigerators in the household sector, as well as calculating the willingness to pay by urban households for investing in these technologies, have been addressed. In this regard, a survey method was employed using a contingent valuation approach. The research data was collected through questionnaire completion (with a sample size of 400 individuals) and face-to-face interviews with households residing in District 4 of Tehran in 2020. The study results indicate that for every 1% increase in the proposed price, the likelihood of willingness to pay extra for purchasing an energy-efficient washing machine and refrigerator decreases by 2.79% and 1.81%, respectively. Furthermore, the results reveal that the proposed price, age, income, and household expenses have the most significant impact on the probability of households' willingness to pay extra. Additionally, the maximum willingness to pay by households for using an energy-efficient washing machine at the highest energy level A+++ (60% energy savings) is 24.9 million rials, and for an A++ refrigerator (28% energy savings), it is 49.9 million rials. Therefore, based on the results, the provision of government incentives and facilitation of purchasing through financial assistance can encourage consumers to invest in energy-efficient equipment. Media planning can also play a significant role in creating awareness and promoting the use of energy-efficient technologies. Furthermore, organizing educational workshops in neighborhood centers to disseminate information about the benefits of energy-efficient equipment is another proposed solution.

The purpose of the current research is to investigate the efficiency of investment in the country's infrastructure by provinces using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The statistical population of the research is all the provinces of Iran and the time period is 10 years, from 2011 to 2020. The information was collected from the yearbooks published by the website of the National Statistics Center of Iran. In this research, using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method, and using the statistical population and the investigated time period, separately and generally, the efficiency of investment in infrastructures (transportation, healthcare, communication and telecommunications, and water and sewage) has been investigated. In this research, considering the growth of infrastructures and the budget allocated to each infrastructure in each province, we will examine the issue of how many provinces have maximum efficiency (desirable) and how many provinces have not had maximum efficiency in the year under review. The results indicate that in more than half of our statistical population, the investigated infrastructures did not have maximum efficiency, which means that the budget allocated to that infrastructural area was not used in a desirable manner.

Literary heritage is one of the cultural and creative industries, which today literary tourism as a special interest tourism strives for its sustainable commercialization. The objectives of the present research are to identify the literary myths and folk stories in Isfahan city and the places related to them. In this regard, the qualitative method (thematic analysis) was used. The result of the data analysis illustrated that the city of Isfahan by including places with four sub-themes of folk stories about Abbas the Great; The folk tale about the needle men's alley (Soozangarha alley) and the Afghan attack on Isfahan; The story of eggs and the folk tale of fortune-telling of girls have a high potential for the development of literary tourism with an emphasis on folk tales. In addition, for the main theme of mythology and literature, six sub-themes were identified, which were: Mitra (myth of light); Symbols of Good vs. Evil in Iranian mythology; Anahita who is referred to as "Goddess of Waters" in Iranian mythology; The love story of Khosrow Parviz and Isfahan's lover, Shekar Isfahani; Sacred trees in mythology; The stories of One Thousand and One Nights, Kalīla wa-Dimna, Amir Arsalan-e Namdar, etc. Lastly, six literary tourism routes of Isfahan City were identified with an emphasis on myths and folk stories