VOL. XLVI

No 36

08-September-2003

IRAN

Irans Underground Economy

By Jahangir Amuzegar

In the following article for MEES, Jahangir Amuzegar, a distinguished economist and former member of the IMF Executive Board, analyzes Irans underground economy.

A highly distinctive feature of Irans Islamic Republic is the relatively large size of its underground economy. Alternately called informal, parallel, unofficial, unregistered, gray, and a host of other labels, the underground economy refers to activities...