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1) Do you think Iran's economy is doing better than previous years? Why or why not?

2) How do politics have an impact on the economy of Iran?

3) How free is Iran based off of their political economy?

4) What effect does Iran's low currency have on the country?

5) Why is China Iran's biggest trade partner?

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Iran's government appears to value equality over freedom because there are many laws and restrictions on exports and imports which shows that the government cares that everyone follows the same rules and follows the same processes. Economic freedom is reduced from all of these taxes and regulations as well as the businesses and companies under the government's control. Lots of people don't have the freedom to maintain their property because the government cares about equality. Also, the freedom of exchange in Iran is gone because the government has control over exchange within/outside of the country. This eliminates freedom within the economy and doesn't allow ordinary people to exchange goods within the country without following these laws. All of these rules are working toward making sure people have the same laws, taxes, and opportunities and prove Iran values equality more than freedom.

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Iran's political economy appears to be a social democracy with characteristics of both liberalism and communism.  The country has statist economic policies in place so the government has tight control over the economy which limits freedom. The Iranian government directly owns and operates hundreds of state-owned enterprises. However, there is also a lot of private sector activity as well and a large informal market economy. The freedom in the private sector combined with the government control makes Iran a social democracy.

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Iran has a freedom score of 16/100, meaning it is amongst one of the least free states. This also implies that the government is heavily involved in the free market. Iranian policymakers have tried to control the prices when inflation was at an all time high, which has failed numerous times because meddling with the prices of goods can distort the supply and demand chain massively. This contributes to why the Iranian economy is so weak. Major government subsidies have also been implemented but again, these subsidies benefit only the wealthy.

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Iran has a property rights index of 27/100 according to theglobaleconomy.com. People can own private property but it is difficult to obtain and keep. Iran has seized over $90 billion in private/commercial property by claiming illegitimate ownership. Though, is is also possible for foreigners to own land in Iran after obtaining a permit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Iran's property rights are overall quite low.

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Government expenditures have been on the rise since 2014, most of which are going to healthcare, welfare, and education. The funding for these expenditures come from mainly income taxes, the sale of capital and financial assets, as well as portions of revenue earned by state sponsored organizations.

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In Iran, rules protecting
consumers' right were approved since 2009. The Consumers Protection Law was approved by Islamic Council Assembly. Based on this law, the providers of public services are required to guarantee the satisfaction of customers during guarantee time. Otherwise consumer can do complaint and refer to court. Some other regulations include the protection of consumers' security, protection of financial interests of consumers, assurance of consumers' access to databases, enhancement of consumers' knowledge level, and making consumers assured of their freedom regarding establishment of some consumers' rights protection institutions.

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Iran has a public services indicator score of 4.4 which is not terrible compared to their other political indicator scores. Primary education is mandatory in Iran and there are numerous government-funded schools, as well as private schools, in Iran. In addition to this, majority of Iran has access to free healthcare. Finally, transportation is extremely inexpensive because of government subsidies on public transportation and gasoline with rides costing less than one cent per mile.

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Iran has an Environmental Protection Law to protect and improve the environment. The law preserves ecological balance, prevents and controls waste and noise pollution, creates a system for monitoring wildlife and marine resources, starts scientific research, adopts measures against polluting units, and raises awareness to the public of these issues. However, these laws and policies are difficult to be enforced and Iran continues to struggle to be environmentally better.

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International sanctions were imposed on Iran and in 2012, Obama tightened sanctions which caused a spike decrease of about 7% in the growth rate. In 2016, the nuclear deal was signed and sanctions were lifted which caused a spike increase of about 13% in economic growth. However, in 2018 Trump withdraws from the nuclear deal and reinstates sanctions which again causes a decrease in economic growth.

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Iran has the lowest valued currency in the world with 1 USD equaling 42,350.00 Iranian Rial. Some citizens also use the Iranian Toman which is valued at even less with 1 Toman equaling 10 Iranian Rials.

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Cargo and goods being imported into the country have to be secured and completely concealed with documentation. The documents needed include commercial invoice, bill of lading, certificate of insurance, weights and measures, and public health requirements.
Iran also has many tariffs on imported and exported goods within the country. They have a variety of taxes and tariffs on many goods which range from 10 to 25%. Automotive vehicles are at 100%. There is also a law that bans the import of foreign goods or services that are being domestically produced already. There are also items that are exempt from taxes when being imported to Iran which include flour, bread, milk, cheese, machinery, livestock, pesticides, etc.

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- There is a standard income tax rate of 25% on individuals in Iran.
- Sales tax as of 2021 is 8%.
- According to austrade.gov.au, businesses operating in Iran are also taxed 25% on their profits. For companies operating outside of Iran, there is a flat rate taxation of 25% as well as an additional 5-7.5% for a license holding.

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Iran's biggest trade partner is China. Iran exports goods like Crude Petroleum and Ethylene Polymers to China and imports goods like Electrical equipment, vehicles, chemicals, iron, and steel. Iran also has a lot of trade with countries like India, Turkey, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.

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Over the last decade, Iran's inflation rate has varied a lot from 10.82% to 31.22% with the average around 20%.

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In Iran, the most important exports are oil and natural gas. They make up 82% of the country's export revenues. There are also smaller exports which include chemicals, plastics, fruit, ceramic products, and metals. Iran is ranked second in the world for natural gas reserves and fourth for crude oil reserves.