Generality and Reality

To answer the aforementioned questions, the paper primarily employs a qualitative approach, although a degree of quantitative data will also be utilized. From a qualitative perspective, the paper will draw heavily on case studies and historical and contemporary examples in order to take a comparative approach in explaining and identifying the effect that refugees have on the nations that receive them. Particularly, the case study approach and the identification of the relevance to the current crisis in Lebanon and Jordan will allow for the exploration of why specific positive or negative effects may be magnified in some cases and not others. Solely focusing on discussions of this issue can cause the reader to be bogged down by generalities that, although often making intuitive sense, lack historical evidence. For example, those who might argue that an influx of refugees has a negative effect on host countries might say â€Å"refugees cause overcrowding in the host country.† While this explanation may be intuitive, it is also simplistic. I hope to examine past case studies and research in order to bridge the gap between generality and reality in order to qualitatively explain; if this is a valid point on the negative side of the argument the manner in which overcrowding manifests itself, how that affects the broader economy, whether that argument has relevance for the Lebanese case, and the potential implications for policy. These conceptual, qualitative explanations will also require a degree of quantitative backing as well. As the paper is discussing economic impact, quantitative metrics for example, GDP figures, money spent on infrastructure development, wage data, and employment data will be employed to give more clarity and evidence to conceptual claims. This quantitative component—although not at the level of sophistication of regression analysis and not primary data in nature—will be useful in both the historical and contemporary parts of the paperLiterature reviewThe modern world is one of constant change and upheaval. For many in the Global North, this change is characterized by dramatic advances in technology and progressive policy reforms. But for still many more, the story is a markedly different tale of survival. Today, the world is confronting its worst refugee crisis since World War II. Facing political turmoil, violence, and war, over 60 million people have fled their homes in search of safety and with hope for a better future (Graham 2015). As these refugees pour over the borders of Iraq and Syria, pile onto smuggling boats in Libya and Burma, and flee to neighboring lands from Yemen and Somalia, they have captured the world's attention. Currently, much of the popular and academic discourse has addressed the moral and humanitarian components of refugee crises. Accordingly, whether due to mounting international awareness and pressure or humanitarian compassion; many developed regions, such as the United States and the European Union, have boosted their capacity to receive refugees. The human rights element inherent to refugee crises is relatively more clear-cut. But a broader academic discussion has been developing around the following question: what are some of the economic effects; both positive and negative, of the sudden influx of refugees on host countries? These economic questions are particularly important to a country like Lebanon, where Syrian refugees now make up over 20 percent of the population (Richard, 2014). Before these effects can be analyzed, it is important to distinguish refugees from other types of migrants. The United Nations, via the 1951 Refugee Convention, defines a refugee as someone who â€Å"owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country. The key point here is movement out of fear and necessity, rather than, say, economic opportunity. This definition has also been expanded by many to include violence and war, famine, and natural disaster. Scholars have further delineated the difference between refugees and migrants by looking at size of the group and nation of origin. In particular, refugees are noted for typically moving as a part of a larger group of people rather than as individuals; they also generally come from relatively less developed economies. With these definitions in mind, the paper now turns to examining the economic impact that refugees have on host countries. Positive economic impacts Refugees can often bring positive economic impacts to the countries that receive them. The existing literature discusses a number of ways in which this can occur, five of which are discussed below. First, provisions designed and implemented explicitly for refugees can often lead to broader utilization by the host country's population. Specifically, schools built explicitly for refugee children have served local students, who might not otherwise go to school at all as well. The presence of refugees ensures enrollment stability, thereby helping to keep the schools open and functioning for all children; this in turn encourages continued investment and can improve the educational infrastructure of the country and boost long-term economic productivity. Aside from educational institutions, governments and international aid organizations may, because of the crisis, often invest in other infrastructure developments; such as medical clinics, housing developments, and roads to access refugee camps that can be maintained and used for the population at large when the refugee crisis subsides. These temporary structures—originally built to support refugees—can persist beyond the crisis and bolster the host country's infrastructure and development prospects. In this sense, these short-term negative economic shocks that refugees provide to the system can give way to a longer-term positive economic outcome. Second, it is also important to consider the demographics of the refugees themselves.Many of the factors that drive refugee crises; especially war or terrorism, are relatively indiscriminate to class. Because of this, refugees can often come from skilled and educated backgrounds. ResultsMost studies of the effect of unskilled migration on the wages of unskilled workers find only small negative effects. The early literature on the subject typically concluded that a 1 percent increase in the immigrant share in the population causes no decline in wages or a decline of 0.1 percent. These area studies that attempted to exploit the variation in migration incidence across countries, or more typically across localities in Lebanon and Jordan. As is most clearly seen in developing countries receiving large numbers of refugees, such as Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, the concentration of refugees in specific localities can â€Å"crowd out† public services such as schools and hospitals, or cause the transport infrastructure to become congested. In advanced countries, where the infrastructure is well developed and the refugee inflow is much smaller relative to the native populations, these effects can be observed in specific neighborhoods, typically in low-income areas.Mitigating these concentration effects while at the same time avoiding the temptation of encouraging refugees to settle in distant locations where it is difficult to find work and people do not want to stay poses a genuine challenge to policy-makers. At the same time, it is clear that unskilled migrants can reduce the price of many market services and also reduce the cost of many public services like unskilled migrants help cleaning streets An important benefit that natives; whether they are skilled or unskilled derive from unskilled refugees, and one that until recently was largely neglected, is that they help reduce the prices of non-traded goods and services that natives use intensively. Researchers have proved that the surge in immigration in the Jordan and Lebanon since 2011 may have reduced the prices of these services by about 10 percent. By contrast, as discussed further below, the arrival of refugees can put upward pressure on housing in localities where they are concentrated. This can make low-income housing less affordable even as it represents a net wealth gain for the native population that owns housing. Since many advanced countries, most notably in Europe, experience high and persistent unemployment over many years, even when growth is near or above long-term potential, the worry that increased immigration will simply make the structural or cyclical unemployment problem worse resonates widely. Consider an economy where collective bargaining predominates in some â€Å"rigid† sectors and where the labor market is very flexible in others. They find that migration can increase unemployment in the rigid sector, while having a relatively small negative effect on wages in the rigid sector, and reduce the wage in the flexible sector where unemployment remains low by definition. In the long run, these effects tend to dissipate as investment responds. Thus, the model that assumes perfect labor markets tends to overestimate the impact of migration on average wages and to underestimate the effect on unemployment; meta-analysis of studies examining the effect of immigration on unemployment in developed countries found out that in general, an increase in immigration by 1 percent of the population leads to an increase in unemployment of no more than 0.3 percent. In contrast, studies of the Lebanon and Jordan labor markets, which are among the most flexible, have found no significant effect of immigration on employment opportunities for native workers; including low-skilled native workers. They found that, among less-educated workers, those born in the two countries tend to have jobs in manufacturing or mining, while migrants tend to have jobs in personal services and agriculture, providing an explanation for why low-skilled migration has a limited impact on employment. In fact, the share of migrants among the less-educated is strongly correlated with the extent of Jordan born worker specialization in communication tasks. In states with a heavy concentration of less-educated migrants, Lebanon born workers have shifted toward more communication-intensive occupations. Those jobs pay higher wages than manual jobs, and so such a mechanism has stimulated the productivity of workers born in the two counties and generated new employment opportunities.

Cempoala - Totonac Capital and Ally of Hernan Cortes

Cempoala - Totonac Capital and Ally of Hernan Cortes Cempoala, also known as Zempoala or Cempolan, was the capital of the Totonacs, a pre-Columbian group that emigrated to the Gulf Coast of Mexico from the central Mexican highlands sometime before the Late Postclassic period. The name is a Nahuatl one, meaning twenty water or abundant water, a reference to the many rivers in the region. It was the first urban settlement encountered by the Spanish colonization forces in the early 16th century. The citys ruins lie near the mouth of the Actopan River about 8 kilometers (five miles) in from the Gulf of Mexico. When it was visited by Hernan Cortà ©s in 1519, the Spaniards found a huge population, estimated at between 80,000-120,000; it was the most populous city in the region.   Cempoala reached its fluorescence between the 12th and 16th century AD, after the previous capital El Tajin was abandoned after being invaded by Toltecan-Chichimecans. The City of Cempoala At its height during the late 15th century, Cempoalas population was organized into nine precincts. The urban core of Cempoala, which includes a monumental sector, covered a surface area of 12 hectares (~30 acres); housing for the citys population spread far beyond that. The urban center was laid out in the way common  to Totonac regional urban centers, with many circular temples dedicated to the wind god Ehecatl. There are 12 large, irregularly shaped walled compounds in the city center that contain the main public architecture, temples, shrines, palaces, and open plazas. The major compounds were composed of large temples bordered by platforms, which elevated the buildings above the flood level. The compound walls were not very high, serving as a symbolic function identifying the spaces which were not open to the public rather than for  defense purposes. Architecture at Cempoala Cempoalas central Mexican urban design and art reflect the norms of the central Mexican highlands, ideas which were reinforced by the late 15th-century Aztec dominance. Most of the architecture is built of river cobbles cemented together, and the buildings were roofed in perishable materials. Special structures such as temples, shrines, and elite residences had a masonry architecture built of cut stone. Important buildings include the Sun temple or Great Pyramid; the Quetzalcoatl temple; the Chimney Temple, which includes a series of semicircular pillars; the Temple of Charity (or Templo de las Caritas), named after the numerous stucco skulls that adorned its walls; the Cross Temple, and the El Pimiento compound, which has exterior walls decorated with skull representations. Many of the buildings have platforms with multiple stories of low height and vertical profile. Most are rectangular with broad stairways. Sanctuaries were dedicated with polychrome designs on a white background. Agriculture The city was surrounded by an extensive canal system and a series of aqueducts which provided water to the farm fields around the urban center as well as the residential areas. This extensive canal system allowed water distribution to fields, diverting water from main river channels. The canals were part of (or built onto) a large wetland irrigation system that is thought to have been built during the Middle Postclassic [AD 1200-1400] period. The system included an area of sloping field terraces, on which the city grew cotton, maize, and agave. Cempoala used their surplus crops to participate in the Mesoamerican trade system, and historic records report that when famine struck the Valley of Mexico between 1450-1454, the Aztecs were forced to barter their children to Cempoala for maize stores. The urban Totonacs at Cempoala and other Totonac cities used home gardens (calmil), backyard gardens which provided domestic groups at the family or clan level with vegetables, fruits, spices, medicines, and fibers. They also had private orchards of cacao or fruit trees. This dispersed agrosystem gave the residents flexibility and autonomy, and, after the Aztec Empire took hold, allowed the homeowners to pay tributes. Ethnobotanist Ana Lid del Angel-Perez argues that the home gardens may also  have acted as a laboratory, where people tested and validated new crops and methods of growing. Cempoala Under the Aztecs and Cortà ©s In 1458, the Aztecs under the rule of Motecuhzoma I invaded the region of the Gulf Coast. Cempoala, among other cities, was subjugated and became a tributary of the Aztec empire. Tributary items demanded by the Aztecs in payment included cotton, maize, chili, feathers, gems, textiles, Zempoala-Pachuca (green) obsidian, and many other products. Hundreds of Cempoalas inhabitants became slaves. When the Spanish conquest arrived in 1519 on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, Cempoala was one of the first cities visited by Cortà ©s. The Totonac ruler, hoping to break away from Aztec domination, soon became allies of Cortà ©s and his army. Cempoala was also the theater of the 1520 Battle of Cempoala between Cortà ©s and the captain Pnfilo de Narvaez, for the leadership in the Mexican conquest, which Cortà ©s handily won. After the Spanish arrival, smallpox, yellow fever, and malaria spread throughout Central America. Veracruz was among the earliest regions affected, and the population of Cempoala sharply declined. Eventually, the city was abandoned and the survivors moved to Xalapa, another important city of Veracruz. Cempoala Archaeological Zone Cempoala was first explored archaeologically at the end of the 19th century by Mexican scholar Francisco del Paso y Troncoso. American archaeologist Jesse Fewkes documented the site with photographs in 1905, and the first extensive studies were conducted by Mexican archaeologist Josà © Garcà ­a Payà ³n between the 1930s and 1970s. Modern excavations at the site were conducted by the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) between 1979-1981, and Cempoalas central core was recently mapped by photogrammetry (Mouget and Lucet 2014). The site is located on the eastern edge of the modern town of Cempoala, and it is open to visitors year-round. Sources Adams REW. 2005 [1977], Prehistoric Mesoamerica. Third Edition. Norman: University of Oklahoma PressBruggemann JK. 1991. Zempoala: El estudio de una ciudad prehispanica. Coleccion Cientifica vol 232 INAH Mexico. Brumfiel EM, Brown KL, Carrasco P, Chadwick R, Charlton TH, Dillehay TD, Gordon CL, Mason RD, Lewarch DE, Moholy-Nagy H, et al. 1980. Specialization, Market Exchange, and the Aztec State: A View From Huexotla [and Comments and Reply]. Current Anthropology 21(4):459-478.del Angel-Pà ©rez AL. 2013. Homegardens and the dynamics of Totonac domestic groups in Veracruz, Mexico. Anthropological Notebooks 19(3):5-22.Mouget A, and Lucet G. 2014. Photogrammetric archaeological survey with UAV. ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences II(5):251-258.Sluyter A, and Siemens AH. 1992. Vestiges of Prehispanic, Sloping-Field Terraces on the Piedmont of Central Veracruz, Mexico. Latin American Antiquity 3(2):148-160.Smith ME. 2013. The Aztecs. New Yo rk: Wiley-Blackwell. Wilkerson, SJK. 2001. Zempoala (Veracruz, Mexico) In: Evans ST, and Webster DL, editors. Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Publishing Inc. p 850-852. Edited and updated by K. Kris Hirst

Alias grace dreams essays

Alias grace dreams essays I finished reading Alias Grace a couple of nights ago. I think one of the quotes from the blurb on the back read something like surely, this is as far as a novel can go and I think I agree. Not so much with the plot, which is still brilliant and involving, but by the sheer amount of technical skill Atwood demonstrates. Youll find a number of different writing methods styles that lesser novels pick one of and use all the way through like poetry, letters from characters to other characters and extracts from other (real life) texts of Grace Marks murder trial. What makes it all so impressive is that in one chapter you could be reading straight from the mind of Grace herself and then the next a number of letters from Dr. Simon Jordan (her fledgling psychologist) addressed to his mother, and it all seamlessly connects while feeling relevant to the story. And the story is an interesting one. I have the feeling I wouldve appreciated more if I had heard of Grace Marks or knew a little bit about the case before reading. Theres a sense that Atwood is writing for people who might have wondered about Grace Marks past and needed someone imaginative to fill in the gaps for them. But Atwood still does an excellent job of catering for the ignorant. Alias Grace is also a book that needs to be read all at once in a fairly short period of time; just to process all the information and keep events straight in your mind. My casual reading habits werent much help with that. But either way, like I said before, the book did what I wanted it to do: prove to me that Margaret Atwood is a bloody good writer. I think I now appreciate The Handmaids Tale a little more because it. Sigmund Freud (18561939) is universally considered the father of psychoanalysis, and many date the birth of psychoanalytic theory from the 1899 publication of The Interpretation of Dream...

Belonging in Romulus My Father and Looking for Alibrandi

Belonging in Romulus my father and looking for alibrandi: Belonging represents the need for individuals to find their identity and place within a society. This results in the growth of individuals and their understanding of the world around them. Through reading the novels, Romulus, My Father and Looking for Alibrandi, we are helped to get a better understanding of the concept of belonging, belonging to a country, belonging to family, and belonging to a racial group. As well as the struggles of not belonging and being an outcast because of race. Romulus, My Father, written by Raimond Gaita, is a true story about Raimonds father, Romulus. Gaita explores the concepts of belonging to a family, belonging to the Australian landscape, and not being accepted because of the fact that Romulus was an immigrant. We belong when we feel connected to others and the world. Romulus found it hard to fit in when he arrived to Australia. This is understandable as immagration invariably involves detachment, loneliness and isolation. His first two years in Australia saw him working for the government, isolated from his family. Romulus did not physically belong to the community due to his appearance, everybody noticed his eyes, almond-shaped, hazel and intense. Colour imagery is used here to contrast the lighter colours of the stereotypical Australian. Romulus was embaressed about his dark complexion, he called himself gipsy and later in Australia, an Aborigine. We see here that Romulus changes his story, in a plea to belong to a community or environment. Romulus doesnt dwell over the isolation he feels, instead he has come to accept what fate dealt him. He feels he is not owed anything better then what he currently has. As time progresses and members of the community realise the blacksmithing and handyman skills he has, he earns respect. It was because Romulus treated everyone with great respect that he was eventually accepted and finally felt a sense of belonging. Similarly, in Looking for Alibrandi, written by Melina Marchetta, we see the pain of a 17 year old girl, Josephine, as she is stuck in between two worlds. She earnt a scholarship at an upper class private school where everyone is judged by how rich their families are. Josie is embaressed of her Italian background, she has been bullied through school and steers away from her Italian traditions. Josie endures pain over her background, and thinks no matter how smart she is, shes always going to be the little ethnic girl from Glebe as far as these people are concerned. She feels that she doesnt belong within society and The use of the words these people highlight the cultural divide and differences between the white anglo-saxon community and the Italian community. When Josie calls upon her father for legal help after assaulting Carly Bishop, her father asked her the reason why she hit Caly with a book, she called me a wog, amongst other things, her father then went on to say You are a wog Josie, does it offend you to be one? . From this point forward, Josie was forced to reconsider her perspective on being Italian. Eventually, a pride in her Italian heritage emerges, although she is selective and doesnt want to be a long suffering Italian woman as earlier generations of women had. However, she didn;t want to be a rebel Italian because she hates the thought of being outcasted by her Italian community, she wants to belong. A sense of belonging can be created with an environment. In Romulus, My Father, we feel Romuluss pain has he longs for the generous and soft Eurpoean foliage. Although the Australian landscape is beautiful, he has no connection or sense of belonging to the environment as he is used to the lush and green bush of Europe. Words with negative connotations such as scraggy and desolate are used to describe the harsh Australian environment and to highlight the fact that Romulus feels no sense of belonging with it. In contrast to this, we see how Raimond finally appreciates the rare beauty of the Australian environment. He now realises that how beautiful it is and feels a connection to it, he has finally stopped looking through his fathers European eyes, the scraggy shapes and sparse foliage actually became the foci for my sense of its beauty and everything else fell into place. In both texts we see the concepts of belonging to a family or close friends. In Romulus, we see the strong bond not only between Romulus and Raimond, but also Hora. The strong bond between father and son is symbolised solely by the memoir, the fact that Raimond wrote the novel about his father emphasies the strong bond they had. Romulus motorbikes were used as a symbol to show the sense of belonging they feel amongst each other, i was nervous when i rode with Mitru and entreated him to slow down on the gravel roads. When i rode with my father, no matter how fast he drove, i always urged him to go faster. Romulus and Horas relationship has stemmed from a cultural bond to a strong friendship based on respect and trust. They became close because of the similar cultures, and they were both aliens in a foreign country. Horas friendship rubs off onto Raimond, who he has great affection for. This is shown by Hora making sure Raimond had an orange for school every day. The fact that Hora would do anything for Raimond is a reflection of the deep sense of belonging that Hora feels towards Romulus. Similarly, in Looking for Alibrandi, we see the strong bond between Josie, and her mother Christina. Although they fight at times because of their fiery personalities, the bond will always be strong because of the hard times they have been through together. As Josie matures on her road to an inner sense of belonging, she becomes close to her grandmother. This is partly because of the fact she has accepted her Italian background, which means she can now tolerate her Nonna more. At the agof 17, she also meets her father for the first time. Initially, she resents him. But after spending time with him she realises how alike they are and they form a tight bond, therefore belonging with each other.

'Prison Works' Discuss Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

'Prison Works' Discuss - Essay Example the theory utilised in Scottish penal system and a reassessment of the principles used in criminal justice regarding gender, race, discrimination and rehabilitation of offenders. This paper will analyse if Scotland’s existing criminal justice and penology theories and application of these principles in the rehabilitation of offenders are effective in their treatment of prisoners. Prevailing views in the previous decades with regard Scotland’s prison service seem to be fortified by the current data and findings about the ‘inefficacy’ of the Scottish prison system which replete the media and the web. There is an increase in imprisonment, higher that what was posted in the previous years and overcrowding in Scotland’s prison, where many has languished for more than 6 months for minor offences, has become worse and was even described as the most overcrowded in Europe It is predicted that when legislators introduce new laws, the number of prisoners will increase by 14% (CJS 2007). Authorities on this subject contend that Scotland is turning in a punitive society where an increasing number of people are incarcerated, growing from 122 individuals out of 100,000 to 141. Some also question if Scotland has become safer as it plans put more people in jail (CJS 2007) by building more prison facilities while others contend that locking offender s up will not change anything if the criminal justice system is not improved. In addition, data and information, for many, have not improved at all as the studies still showed dismal results similar to those seen during past decades. For instance, in the 1996 data on offenders who sought psychiatric assistance, less that 0.1% of convicted offenders were afforded this service and only 0.5% of the offenders were confined in psychiatric institutions. The use of the insanity bargain is a rare occurrence in Scotland. Yet, mental unfitness is evident in many offenders and the problem lies on the absence of a universal policy which

Marks and Spencer Clothing Business Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marks and Spencer Clothing Business - Case Study Example Perhaps more than any other business the retail companies must devote the utmost attention to planning and analysis. The classic example for the decline in the profitability due to wrong approach to customer tastes and lack of management ability to judge the requirements of the business is Marks and Spencer, who for years has been a stalwart of UK high streets, providing generation after generation with their smalls and snacks. This report envisages bringing out a comprehensive study of the problems that lead to the decline of the profits of the company, the possible solutions that may see the company back into action towards recovering its past glory. "For better or worse, globalization has fundamentally changed retail. The wide availability of low-cost products presents challenges for maintaining both top line and bottom-line performance. Retail customers have come to expect that they can have their cake and eat it too, meaning that they can choose from a wider array of product offerings and pay a very low price for these goods." (William Brandel 2006) In fact this was the potential problem faced by Marks & Spenser during the period from 1999 to 2003 by declining sales in the clothing division. While the other high street competitors made all efforts to supply highly fashionable cat walk trendy clothing for young women at unimaginable competitive prices, Mark & Spencer didn't have anything to offer its customers like those of its competitors. With the result that the customers found alternative sources to meet their expectations and this had virtually affected the sales of Mark & Spencer. This report makes a complete review of the course of events that led to the decline in the sales and the resultant lower profitability of Mark & Spencer. The report consists of sections detailing objectives, scope and methodology of the study followed by a review of available literature leading to findings, conclusions and recommendations for the improvement of the sales of clothing line of Marks & Spencer 2.0 Marks & Spencer- A Background: Marks & Spencer is one of the UK's leading retailers of clothing, food, home wear and financial services. The Company trades in 30 countries worldwide and had a group turnover in excess of 8 billion for the year 2002 with pre-tax profit of 335.9 million for the same year. In the year 1998 it became the first retailer to make a profit of over 1 billion. The Company has 347 stores around the world with 333 stores operating in the UK. As of 2002 the company had 60,000 employees on its

History-Assess the short and long term impact of Iran's 1979 Essay

History-Assess the short and long term impact of Iran's 1979 Revolution - Essay Example The causes of the Iranian Revolution, despite a seeming absence of general crisis so characteristic of previous revolutions of such magnitude1, were manifold. The twentieth century history of Iran was characterized by aggravation of social contradictions. The modernizing policies of the Pahlavi dynasty (1926-1979) were at best inconclusive: the political and civic reforms of the first Shah of the dynasty, Reza Shah Pahlavi, were accompanied by ruthless suppression of both clerical and left-wing oppositional movements2. After his abdication in 1941, the country found itself mired in instability caused by the effect of the WW II and foreign occupation4. After the failure of the attempt of the secular nationalist government of Mohammad Mosaddeq to nationalize oil industry, which led to the coup d’etat against Mosaddeq on August 19, 19534, Mohammad Reza Shah re-assumed the dictatorial powers of his father. At that time, the clerical forces of Iran sided with the Shah, fearing left -wing secularist regime5. The government of Mohammad Reza Shah embarked on the ambitious program of the so-called ‘White Revolution’ in the 1960s, which was to facilitate the development of modern industries in Iran. Despite Mohammad Reza Shah’s populist pretenses, his modernization strategy privileged large, modern enterprises and the oil sector, which served the needs of international market, to the detriment of small businesses traditionally united into the network of bazaar 6. The state developmentalist policies led to the uncontrollable inflation7. The Shah’s land reform actually contributed to the crisis, as the new peasant cultivators were unable to tend the land as efficiently as large-scale farms would, thus leading to massive increases in imports of food stuffs and accordingly in their prices8. The attempts of the Shah’s government to control soaring inflation in the mid-1970s only aggravated the situation9. The revolutionary movement, whi ch sprang from the clashes between the religious students and the Shah’s SAVAK security forces in the late 1977, eventually turned in the country-wide disturbances with the general strike of October 197810. The government of the Pahlavis was swiftly disintegrating, and on January 16, 1979 Mohammad Reza Shah left Iran. From then on, the victory of the Iranian Revolution was guaranteed. The signs of the general crisis in the Iranian economy were much pronounced in the immediate aftermath of the Revolution. As a result of wide-scale strike movement of 1978-1979, the country stood on the brink of economic collapse. As of 1980, the industrial output fell by almost 20%11 in comparison with the 1977 level, while total GNP of Iran in 1981 fell to 81 percent of that in 197712. The Revolution heralded the beginning of spontaneous campaign of occupations and confiscations; the workers’ committees were formed in many sectors, first of all, in oil industry13. Even though the govern ment did not actually contemplate total nationalization of private sector, the complicity of large banking institutions in massive capital flight forced it to bow to the pressures of popular movements and demands of Khomeini-led Revolutionary Council (RC), and in summer 1979 the nationalization of banks, insurance companies and major branches of industries was carried out14. Nevertheless, the PRG policy remained cautious in such important economic spheres as land