Plenary Speakers

• Presenters – 35 minutes
• Questions from the floor – 10 minutes

Sessions

• Presenters – 25 minutes
• Discussants – 10 minutes
• Question from the floor – 5 minutes

PROGRAM

Day 1 – Friday, September 18, 2009

8:00-8:45 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast (45 minutes)

8:45-9:00 a.m. WELCOME

Hashem Pesaran, John E. Elliott Professor of Economics (USC) & Professor of Economics, Cambridge University,
and Simon Wilkie, Professor and Chair of Economics (USC)

9:00-10:30 a.m. SESSION I – Economic Trends and Policies in Post Revolutionary Iran

Chair: Hadi Salehi Esfahani (UIUC)

Speaker: Jahangir Amuzegar (International Economic Consultant, DC)

“Iran’s 20-Year Economic Perspective: An Appraisal”

General Discussion

Speaker: Hashem Pesaran (USC & Cambridge University)

“ A century of Oil Income: A Blessing or a Curse for the Iranian Economy ”

General Discussion

10:30-10:45 a.m. Coffee Break

10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. SESSION II – Energy and Nuclear Issues

Chair: Simon Wilkie (USC)

Speaker: Fereidun Fesharaki (Chairman, FACTS Global Energy & Senior Fellow, East-West Center)

"Iran's Oil and Gas Industry: Short- and Long-Term Drivers Impacting the Future of Petroleum Production and Export Revenues"

Discussant: Djavad Salehi-Isfahani (Virginia Tech)

Speaker: Mohammad Sahimi (USC)

"Iran's Nuclear Program, Economic Justification, and Political Implications"

Discussant: Najmedin Meshkati (USC)

Speaker: Geoffrey Forden (MIT), with John Thomson (MIT)

“Iran as a Pioneer Case for Multilateral Nuclear Arrangements”

Discussant: Wayne Glass (USC)

12:45-1:45 p.m. Conference Lunch

1:45-3:45 p.m. SESSION III – Social Trends and Policies

Chair: Jeff Nugent (USC)

Speaker: Daniel Egel (UC Berkeley), with Djavad Salehi-Isfahani (Virginia Tech)

"Youth Education, Employment and Marriage Transitions in Iran: Evidence from the School to Work Transition Survey"

Discussant: John Strauss (USC)

Speaker: Amir Farmanesh (University of Maryland)

"Regional Dimensions of Economic Development in Iran: A New Economic Geography Approach"

Discussant: Eric J. Heikkila (SPPD, USC)

Speaker: Hadi Salehi Esfahani (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), with Seyed Mohammad Karimi

"Mechanisms of Poverty Reduction in Iran: Public Expenditure and Quasi-Government Organizations"

Discussant: Hassan Hakimian (Cass Business School, UK) 

3:45-4:15 p.m. Coffee Break

4:15-5:40 p.m. SESSION IV – Business and Industry Conditions

Chair: Esmail Amid-Hozour (Eton Corporation)

Speaker: Parvin Alizadeh (London Metropolitan University)

"Iranian Auto Industry in a Comparative Perspective"

Discussant: Ali Dadpay (Clayton State University)

Speaker: Mina Kamouie (Az-Zahra University), with Yashar Heydari Barardehi (UIUC)

"Estimating the Demand for Private Health Insurance in Iran: A Tobit Analysis"

Discussant: Kamiar Mohaddes (Cambridge University)

7:30 p.m. Conference Dinner

Day 2 – Saturday, September 19, 2009

8:00-8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast

8:30-10:30 a.m. SESSION V – Globalization, Free Trade Zones and the Iranian Economy

Chair: Richard Drobnick (USC Marshall School)

Speakers: Tarik Yousef (Dean, Dubai School of Government), with Ethan chorine (Dubai School of Government) 

“The Islamic Republic's Ports and Free Zones Policy in Question"

Discussant: Jeff Nugent (USC)

Speaker: Hassan Hakimian (Cass Business School, UK)

"Iran’s Free Trade and Special Economic Challenges and Opportunities"

Discussant: Parvin Alizadeh (London Metropolitan University)

Speaker: Gholamreza Haddad (Sharif University), with Zahra Nejati Moharrami (Parsian Bank of Iran)

"The Impacts of Globalization on the Earning Inequality (the Case Study of Iran 2001-2003)”

Discussant: Hadi Salehi Esfahani (UIUC)

10:30. 11:00 a.m. Coffee Break

11.00-1.00 p.m. SESSION VI – Politics and the Economy in Iran

Chair: Laurie Brand (USC)

Speaker: William Beeman (University of Minnesota)

"The Economics of the Downtrodden - Revolutionary Ideology and Practical Politics in the Islamic Republic"

Discussant: Nikki Keddie (UCLA)

Speaker: Behrooz Ghamari (UIUC)

"The Effect of New Presidencies in Iranian-American Relations: Can the US Accept the Islamic Republic as a Regional Power"

Discussant: Laurie Brand (USC)

Speaker: Evaleila Pesaran (Cambridge University)

"W(h)ither Economic Reform in Iran? An Evaluation of the 2002 Foreign Investment Act"

Discussant: Jeff Nugent (USC)

1:00-2:00 p.m. Conference Lunch

2:00-3:30 p.m. SESSION VII – US Sanctions and the Iranian Economy

Chair: Hassan Hakimian (Cass Business School, UK)

Speaker: Sam Hakim (Pepperdine University), with Manouchehr Rashidian (USC)

"Properties, Linkages, and the Impact of Sanctions on the Tehran Stock Exchange"

Discussant: Pouyan Mashayekh-Ahangarani (Moody’s Investors Services)

Speaker: Farshid Mojaver (UC Davis), with  Farid Fayazmanesh (Tavanir Co)

“Accession of the Iranian Economy to the World Trade Organization: A Quantitative Appraisal”

Discussant: Peter Rosendorff (NYU & USC)

3:30-4:00 p.m. Coffee Break

4:00-5:00 p.m. CONCLUDING PANEL DISCUSSIONS

Chair: Hashem Pesaran
Panel Members: Jahangir Amouzegar, Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, Hadi Salehi Esfahani, Jeff Nugent

5:00 p.m. Conference Closes

Sponsors: 

We are grateful for financial support from the following units at USC: 

Department of Economics,

Institute for Economic Policy Research (IEPR),

School of International Relations (SIR),

Center for International Studies (CIS),

Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER),

Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School of Communications,  

and from outside sources: 

The Journal of Applied  Econometrics,

The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 

the Center for South Asian & Middle Eastern Studies (CSAMES) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,  

and a generous gift from Dr. Esmail Amid-Houzour. 
 

Scientific and Organizing Committee:

Laurie Brand (USC), Hadi Salehi Esfahani (Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Jeff Nugent (USC), and Hashem Pesaran (Cambridge and USC, Chair) 

Local Organizer and Administrator:

Farideh Motamedi (USC) 

Conference Website: http://college.usc.edu/conferences/iran/