Iran in Country Brief on Their Economy - Essay Example

In understanding Iran, one of the central considerations is the nature of the petroleum industry. Iran's spending budget is $482 billion (Polk 2011, p. 20). This is directly tied to oil prices per barrel. Later in the presentation, Iran’s strong reliance on oil is directly related to its international relations policy. In addition to petroleum, another prominent Western perspective on Iran is its strong embrace of religious principles. In many ways, these perspectives, in economic terms, have a degree of truth. In this way, it’s estimated that as much as 30% of government spending goes towards religious organizations (Polk 2011, p. 20). The exact government spending breakdown is recognized as follows: In terms of specific government spending policies, the reported breakdown of Iranian spending is 59% on social policies, 17% on economic matters, 15% on national defense, and 3% on agriculture (Polk 2011, p. 19). Within this spending contains the 30% that goes towards religious groups several historical considerations must be examined when considering the Iranian economy.

The picture featured on the slide you see is Ayatollah Khomeini; this is the individual that took over with the 1978 Revolution. Before 1979 Iran’s economic expansion occurred at a robust pace. With the 1978 Iranian Revolution, however, there was a stark decline in economic growth. Following the Revolution, the government increasingly focused on economic independence and an increased quality of life for Iranian inhabitants (Polk 2011, p. 32). Still, while Iran’s oppositional stance toward the United States is commonly attributed to its economic shortcomings, it’s also recognized that the country has faced considerable other challenges. Between 1980 and 2000 the Iranian economy nearly doubled. This increase in population resulted in food shortages that greatly impacted the economic structure (Polk 2011, p. 24). Another major economic setback occurred in 1980 with the Iran-Iraq war.