This study seeks to analyze the dynamics of decentralization in Iran and explore the nature of its connection to the socio-economic development structures of the provinces. The choice of this problem was made on the basis of the theoretical and policy significance. Its main theoretical concern is an explanation of the underlying aspects of decentralization which has been defined as the extent to which the province has the capacity to perform functions and services relevant to its needs. This study emphasizes the structural requirements of decentralization and hypothesizes that it is a function of the province's level of socio-economic development. / From the policy point of view, this research examines the problem of how much local autonomy the provinces should have based on their capacity to govern and how functions and services could be reasonably allocated between the national and local government. A selective scheme of decentralization which differentiates degrees of autonomy on the basis of the varying conditions in the provinces is proposed as an alternative to the present system which prescribes universal and uniform standards for local governments regardless of their institutional and resource capabilities. / Twenty-four variables from aggregate data for 1976 on the provinces based on per capita were utilized for two factor analysis programs to deliniate the major aspects of decentralization and development. The factors which emerged as underlying decentralization are: Local Government and Social Services. Likewise, three factors characterize provincial socio-economic development: Urbanization, Rural Employment, and Regionalization. The real factors which form the basis of both the decentralization and development phenomena are far more complex than revealed in this study and would include great number of variables some of which could be defined only through intuition, insight, or contextual analysis of social reality in Iran. / Through multiple regression analysis, the decentralization aspects were predicted by the development variables. Local Government was predicted highly by Rural Employment, and Social Services was not so highly correlated with the three development factors. The overall relationship between decentralization and development was somewhat moderate with 42% of the variance in the decentralization aspect explained by development aspects. Also, the findings of the study support the minor hypothesis on the positive connection between distance and decentralization and development. / The dissertation also focuses on the experiences of decentralization in provinces and various policies which were introduced in the developmental plans. But at the end we found that decentralization has had limited success. And in particular in the current circumstances in Iran, regarding the various conflicts between the hard-line clergymen and moderates, autonomy-seeking ethnic groups and the central government, and above all the war with Iraq which began in mid-September 1980 and still going on, the accomplishment of policies concerning decentralization is in doubt. / The study concludes that decentralization is not a panacea for the malfunctioning of political institutions but it is only one of a number of options that could contribute to popular participation, equity, social responsiveness, and similar goals. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-03, Section: A, page: 1311. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74438 |
| Contributors | ZIAII-BIGDELI, TAGHI., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 156 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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