Examining the effects of doing business on Iran and MENA countries' economic growth

Purpose - The purposes of this paper are: reviewing economic growth in Iran, investigating and comparing Iran doing business (DB) with those of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries and evaluating the relation between DB and economic growth for a selected sample during 2006-2012. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses the panel data model and takes a comparative approach. Findings - The main findings of our investigation are: first, economic growth in Iran has decreased in recent years due the lack of proper business environment. Second, studying Iran DB indicators and comparing them with those of the MENA countries show that they are low and Iran's ranking is undesirable. Third, the results show a robust support for the claim that the improvement in DB indicators will lead to an increase in economic growth. Researchlimitations/implications - MENA countries' experience shows that they are promoting their economic growth by improving their business environment, so the key element for increasing Iran' economic growth is by improving the business environment. Originality/value - This study contributes to the literature in at least two aspects. First is the comparative analysis of Iran's DB with MENA countries, and second is considering the effect of DB on Iran's and selected countries' economic growth.