Steve H. Hanke
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s economy suffers internal,
debilitating problems. Many anti-market seeds were sown by the last
Shah. These seeds have been well tended and aggressively added to
by Iran’s current theocratic regime. If these homemade
economic problems weren’t enough, Iran’s foreign policy
adventures have invited the imposition of economic sanctions by its
foreign foes.
The combination of an inherently weak and vulnerable economy,
and annoying sanctions, make for a perfect storm. This storm
produces a good deal of misery.
For a quick take on how miserable a country is, I construct
Hanke’s Annual Misery Index. My Index is
the sum of the unemployment, inflation, and bank lending rates,
minus …read more
Source: Cato Institute