Iranian economist says foreign competition key to growth
Iranian economist Saeed Laylaz discusses how Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's economic policies can prevent the return of another Mahmoud Ahmadinejad populist, how to decrease the Islamic Republic Guard Corp’s economic influence and the issue of mismanagement.
Saeed Laylaz is an Iranian economist who has paid a big price for expressing his views about the direction of the country. A former adviser to Reformist Mohammad Khatami’s administration, Laylaz became a vocal critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s economic policies and spent time in jail in the 2009 post-election crackdown. He was also the editor-in-chief of the periodical Sarmayeh, which was shut down by the government in 2009.
With a new president and a new economic team, for the first time in eight years Laylaz finds himself in the position of supporting the Iranian administrations’ economic policies.
In an exclusive Al-Monitor interview by phone on March 2, Laylaz, who currently teaches at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, discussed how Hassan Rouhani's economic policies can prevent the return of another Ahmadinejad-style populism and how to decrease the Revolutionary Guard's economic influence. He also argues that Rouhani should aim for a smaller administration because during Ahmadinejad’s presidency the administration’s expenditure was increased sevenfold.
Excerpts of the interview follow:
