New Yorker latest issue has a very interesting report on Dr. Tabibian, an Iranian professor and yours truly professor in economics, when I was a graduate student at IRPD. As a professor he was inspiring. He encouraged us, his students, to write about economics and market ideas. (This resulted in three of us: Pouyan Mashayekh, Ali Farahbakhsh and me, to start writing for Hamshahri, this was late 1990's) A new phase in dialogue over economic issues was opened in Iran, which had been dominated by the leftist ideologies until then. Today two daily papers are committed to market ideas in economy in Iran and almost all have accepted its principles, although not practicing it yet.
He was a faculty member of Institute for Research in Planning and Development (IRPD), a pilot institute for economic studies and research that launched a master program in economics to teach it according to syllabus at Duke, MIT and UCLA. It was a great program to be part of and it accepted applicants from graduates of all fields, many of engineering students from Sharif University of Technology, University of Tehran and from Polytechnic University came to this institute to study economics. This was a new change in Iranian academic environment, where social sciences was the fiefdom of leftists and their ideas. To talk of free market was considered heresy. IRPD left an impact on Iranian academia. However the bureaucracy took care of that.
IRPD became Institute for Management and Planning Studies (IMPS) under President Khatami. Ironically reformists, particularly old leftists, treated him and his colleagues no better than the current administration, although may be less harshly. They blamed him for liberalization of market during President Rafsanjani's administration, and when the time came they forced a new administrator upon IMPS whose ideas could not have been more different. Today IMPS does not accept students. Sharif University of Technology followed that example by establishing its Graduate School of Management and Economics (GSME).
Dr. Tabibain's story is the story of those who wanted to make a difference through professionalism. They have witnessed how their agenda has been compromised by all political groups and how their careers have suffered from ideological animosity of their rivals. His is a true story, a story worthy of telling and reading. That is why you should read this article.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
We knew Beethoven because of Him
Someone might tell you a Mr. Karim ChamanAra passed away in Tehran, Iran. His name might not be among familiar names in media reports, or among Iranian directors and musicians who frequent capitals and metropolitans. Nonetheless generations of Iranians knew mighty names such as Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and etc because of him. Karim ChamanAra dedicated his life to production and publication of music, both classical and Iranian traditional. His name is worthy of remembrance and our gratitude.
Mr. ChamanAra was the founder of Beethoven music house in Tehran, a company producing and distributing musical recordings and tapes. His store was also named Beethoven, in the crowded streets of central Tehran; there one could have found a different world. Rows and rows of masters, musical scores, performances, composers, for many going through his shelves was a study of classical music. Through him we heard Beethoven’s 5th and 9th, the thunder of artillery in Borodino as captured by Tchaikovsky’s 1812, the hymns of Bach’s baroque, Mozart’s geniuses and so many others. Located a few block from University of Tehran, a short walk from Alborz High School and Polytechnic University of Tehran (Amirkabir University of Technology), Beethoven was a landmark by itself. Many like your correspondent did not go there to shop; we went there to pay our respects on pilgrimage.
May be it is hard for you, my dear reader, to imagine the significance of his work, but in revolution and war, in social turmoil and midst political unrest keeping the gates of heavens open is no easy task. Because of his dedication many found moments of tranquility, many discovered the joy and passion of music. He will be remembered.
Mr. ChamanAra was the founder of Beethoven music house in Tehran, a company producing and distributing musical recordings and tapes. His store was also named Beethoven, in the crowded streets of central Tehran; there one could have found a different world. Rows and rows of masters, musical scores, performances, composers, for many going through his shelves was a study of classical music. Through him we heard Beethoven’s 5th and 9th, the thunder of artillery in Borodino as captured by Tchaikovsky’s 1812, the hymns of Bach’s baroque, Mozart’s geniuses and so many others. Located a few block from University of Tehran, a short walk from Alborz High School and Polytechnic University of Tehran (Amirkabir University of Technology), Beethoven was a landmark by itself. Many like your correspondent did not go there to shop; we went there to pay our respects on pilgrimage.
May be it is hard for you, my dear reader, to imagine the significance of his work, but in revolution and war, in social turmoil and midst political unrest keeping the gates of heavens open is no easy task. Because of his dedication many found moments of tranquility, many discovered the joy and passion of music. He will be remembered.
Photo is from BBCPERSIAN.COM
Monday, January 12, 2009
Khatami or MirHussein Mousavi
Former President Khatami told reporters On Monday that either he or Mr. MirHussein Mousavi, Iran's premier during Iran-Iraq war, will run for presidency against President Ahmadinejad. This is the first public announcement Mr. Khatami has made about his plans for coming elections. He also said that the current administration diversion from development plans and accepted 2020 vision has cost country dearly. He criticized the government by adding “instead of going forward for 4 years we went backward for 4 years."
Although Mr. Khatami has remained actively involved in Iran's politics since his second term ended as the president, Mr. MirHussein Mousavi has been considered retired. He led the government during the Iran-Iraq war serving as the prime minister, while Ayatollah Khamenie was the President of IRI. His government implemented centralist economic policies, limiting private sector to a few industries and expanding public sector to include several enterprises in different industries. His emphasis on a leftist approach to the economy caused several disagreements with conservative factions of Majlis. Trained as an architect he has a quiet professional life for the last 20 years, designing houses and holding art exhibition. Although his name always comes up when a presidential election is approaching.
Although Mr. Khatami has remained actively involved in Iran's politics since his second term ended as the president, Mr. MirHussein Mousavi has been considered retired. He led the government during the Iran-Iraq war serving as the prime minister, while Ayatollah Khamenie was the President of IRI. His government implemented centralist economic policies, limiting private sector to a few industries and expanding public sector to include several enterprises in different industries. His emphasis on a leftist approach to the economy caused several disagreements with conservative factions of Majlis. Trained as an architect he has a quiet professional life for the last 20 years, designing houses and holding art exhibition. Although his name always comes up when a presidential election is approaching.
* Photo is taken from BBC Persian website
Monday, January 05, 2009
Back from ASSA San Francisco 2009
This year Allied Social Sciences Association (ASSA) held its annual meeting in San Francisco, CA. The main body in these associations is American Economic Association. However several other associations were present, including Econometric Society (ES), Middle East Economics Association (MEEA) and etc.
For many this meeting is also known as the “Job Market" since several PhD candidates and recent graduates receive their first chance to talk to their potential employers. And for life of me I do not know how anyone can evaluate anyone as a potential colleague in 30 minutes! I believe that is why hiring committees intend to rely on brands and their instincts more than anything else. That is also why job seekers must have a network of connections before this event to make themselves known. Otherwise they are only another face in a line of dozens of talented candidates.
The recession and the recent economic events have caused tremendous distortion in the market this year. Several schools hiring budgets were frozen. Some received word in the last minute that they can hire, some heard that they could not.
The conference also is a place for the members of MEEA to meet and to have their annual gatherings. There were a few sessions including a poster session where researches from schools in U.S. and universities in Algiers, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and other countries presented their work (I presented in the poster session myself).
The quality of some of the papers was remarkable. I particularly liked a paper presented by Nagla Rizk from American University of Cairo on copy rights and the lack of demand for them in Egypt. Her argument is that the main source of income for many artists is their performances in the weddings and other social events and thus they are not interested in collecting loyalties from the sale of their products. I found this paper and a few others intriguing because of their insightful approach to the fabric of daily economic life in the Middle East.
Overall one must admit that there is an increasing interest in the Middle Eastern economies that goes beyond the traditional approach, which focuses on oil and nothing else.
For many this meeting is also known as the “Job Market" since several PhD candidates and recent graduates receive their first chance to talk to their potential employers. And for life of me I do not know how anyone can evaluate anyone as a potential colleague in 30 minutes! I believe that is why hiring committees intend to rely on brands and their instincts more than anything else. That is also why job seekers must have a network of connections before this event to make themselves known. Otherwise they are only another face in a line of dozens of talented candidates.
The recession and the recent economic events have caused tremendous distortion in the market this year. Several schools hiring budgets were frozen. Some received word in the last minute that they can hire, some heard that they could not.
The conference also is a place for the members of MEEA to meet and to have their annual gatherings. There were a few sessions including a poster session where researches from schools in U.S. and universities in Algiers, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and other countries presented their work (I presented in the poster session myself).
The quality of some of the papers was remarkable. I particularly liked a paper presented by Nagla Rizk from American University of Cairo on copy rights and the lack of demand for them in Egypt. Her argument is that the main source of income for many artists is their performances in the weddings and other social events and thus they are not interested in collecting loyalties from the sale of their products. I found this paper and a few others intriguing because of their insightful approach to the fabric of daily economic life in the Middle East.
Overall one must admit that there is an increasing interest in the Middle Eastern economies that goes beyond the traditional approach, which focuses on oil and nothing else.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Report on the First Conference on Iran's Economy
This was a most promising gathering of economists and doctoral students interested in Iran's economy hosted by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Some of the eminent names in Iranian studies and economic research attended the conference, among them (in alphabetical order) Professors Firouz Gahvari, Hassan Hakimian, Guity Nashat, Vahid Nowshirvani, Hashem Pesaran, Djavad Salehi-Isfahani and Hadi Salehi Esfahani. The younger generation included several doctoral students from UIUC, Virginia Tech, USC, UT-Austin, Berkley, Cambridge (UK) and Goethe University (Germany). Nobel laureate Gary Becker from University of Chicago offered commentary on research on Iran’s economy. Professor Hashem Pesaran from Cambridge was the keynote speaker. The meetings were held in Illini Union.
The conference was conspicuous for several reasons. The articles presented stand apart from the mainstream research in their insight, analysis and implications. A few works even went as far as implementing new information theory methodologies to study economic issues in Iran.
The works of doctoral students were impressive both in their efforts to utilize advance theories and analytical tools and in their struggle with original data from the field. Each and every paper was welcome by several comments from well informed audience and the following discussion usually brought up new questions for further research. This was a world apart from usual gatherings where people have little idea about the realities of daily economic life in Iran and thus they are content by what they hear.
The conference also was a significant organizational success. All in academia know that organizing such events is no easy task. Special thanks go to Professor Hadi Salehi Esfahani for initiating the idea of such gatherings and coordinating the efforts and resources needed for organizing this conference and to his colleagues; Professor Firouz Gahvari and Dr. Ali Toossi Ardakani and to Iranian graduate students in economics department at UIUC, who assisted in all phases of the conference and were generously hospitable. UIUC[1] has been among the first campuses to admit Iranian graduate students to the doctoral program in economics directly from Iran and its sponsorship of this conference was a new peak in this institution’s support for research on Iran’s economy.
This certainly is but a beginning. The second conference at USC in September 2009 is expected to be attended by a larger number of researchers and doctoral students. The idea is to have annual meetings that bring together all economists who are interested in Iran’s economy with academicians from Iran; unfortunately visa problems prevented Iranian economists from attending the first conference despite organizers’ efforts and wishes. The challenges ahead are many particularly for the young researchers who have to seek employment and to qualify for tenure. They ought to balance their interests in Iran's economy and the necessities of their career paths.
The signs are promising; Iran is a taboo or deal breaker topic in academic circles no more. The growing number of doctoral students in economics from this country guarantees a continuous access to the observations from field and a dynamic link with Iranian academic centers. The road ahead is long, but there is hope that great things can be accomplished. The first Conference on Iran's Economy has confirmed and reinforced hopes for dynamic, productive and ground breaking research on Iran's economy.
[1] Another school was Virginia Tech, whose students collaborated with a few research papers offered in this conference.
The conference was conspicuous for several reasons. The articles presented stand apart from the mainstream research in their insight, analysis and implications. A few works even went as far as implementing new information theory methodologies to study economic issues in Iran.
The works of doctoral students were impressive both in their efforts to utilize advance theories and analytical tools and in their struggle with original data from the field. Each and every paper was welcome by several comments from well informed audience and the following discussion usually brought up new questions for further research. This was a world apart from usual gatherings where people have little idea about the realities of daily economic life in Iran and thus they are content by what they hear.
The conference also was a significant organizational success. All in academia know that organizing such events is no easy task. Special thanks go to Professor Hadi Salehi Esfahani for initiating the idea of such gatherings and coordinating the efforts and resources needed for organizing this conference and to his colleagues; Professor Firouz Gahvari and Dr. Ali Toossi Ardakani and to Iranian graduate students in economics department at UIUC, who assisted in all phases of the conference and were generously hospitable. UIUC[1] has been among the first campuses to admit Iranian graduate students to the doctoral program in economics directly from Iran and its sponsorship of this conference was a new peak in this institution’s support for research on Iran’s economy.
This certainly is but a beginning. The second conference at USC in September 2009 is expected to be attended by a larger number of researchers and doctoral students. The idea is to have annual meetings that bring together all economists who are interested in Iran’s economy with academicians from Iran; unfortunately visa problems prevented Iranian economists from attending the first conference despite organizers’ efforts and wishes. The challenges ahead are many particularly for the young researchers who have to seek employment and to qualify for tenure. They ought to balance their interests in Iran's economy and the necessities of their career paths.
The signs are promising; Iran is a taboo or deal breaker topic in academic circles no more. The growing number of doctoral students in economics from this country guarantees a continuous access to the observations from field and a dynamic link with Iranian academic centers. The road ahead is long, but there is hope that great things can be accomplished. The first Conference on Iran's Economy has confirmed and reinforced hopes for dynamic, productive and ground breaking research on Iran's economy.
[1] Another school was Virginia Tech, whose students collaborated with a few research papers offered in this conference.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
First Conference on Iran's Economy
Tomorrow the First Conference on Iran's Economy will take place at University of Illinois Urbanna-Champaign. This gathering stands out for two reasons: first it is attended by many who have been working on Iran's economy for the past three decades. Second a number of young researchers are presenting their work in this conference, among them a few doctoral students and recent graduates. Thus it marks the first event where the younger generation of economists interested in Iran join the older generation who kept the work going despite all difficulties and turmoil of past three decades.
There will be a second gathering in September at USC and interested parties and researchers are invited to submit their work. Iran's economy after another sharp increase in oil prices is going through aftershocks now. Its rising inflation, the huge supply of college graduates, its success in checking population growth and fighting poverty, while inequality persists in society, make studying it the most intreseting undertaking.
There will be a second gathering in September at USC and interested parties and researchers are invited to submit their work. Iran's economy after another sharp increase in oil prices is going through aftershocks now. Its rising inflation, the huge supply of college graduates, its success in checking population growth and fighting poverty, while inequality persists in society, make studying it the most intreseting undertaking.
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