Economy

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“Sustainable tourism development requires the identification of effective factors at various levels, especially at the local level. This study aims to identify key local drivers influencing tourism development in Ferdows County shortly (2014), adopting a futures studies approach. The research is applied in terms of purpose and quantitative in terms of methodology. The statistical population consisted of tourism experts and managers in Ferdows County, from which a sample of 30 individuals was selected using the snowball sampling technique and theoretical saturation. Data were collected through structured interviews and a future cross-impact questionnaire. The data were then analyzed using the structural-interpretive modeling approach (MICMAC analysis) via MICMAC software. Findings revealed that among the 15 identified local drivers, the most influential key internal (local) drivers of tourism development in Ferdows County by the year 1414 include: Enhancing social security at the destination and tourist attractions (+15), Promotion and preservation of indigenous handicrafts (+11), Development of local tourism infrastructure (+7), Branding and marketing of local tourism products (+7), Conservation of historical potentials and local cultural heritage (+5), Investment and financial resource allocation for tourism (+1). The innovation of this study, compared to previous research, lies in its application of a futures studies approach to evaluate both local (internal) and supralocal drivers influencing tourism development within a comprehensive framework
 

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Objective: This study aims to analyze and prioritize the effects of support facilities and marketing strategies on the economic performance of rural livestock farms in Khorasan Razavi Province.
Methods: This study employed the Analytic Network Process (ANP) multi-criteria decision-making model, which enables the examination of internal relationships and interdependencies between criteria and sub-criteria. The conceptual framework comprised 7 main criteria and 25 sub-criteria, developed to provide a precise explanation of factors influencing economic performance. Required data were collected through a pairwise comparison questionnaire completed by 237 livestock farmers across various counties in Khorasan Razavi Province.
Results: Results from data analysis revealed that three criteria—"support facilities," "economic costs," and "marketing strategies"—hold the highest importance in explaining the economic performance of livestock units. At the sub-criteria level, "feed costs" received the highest weight, indicating the substantial cost burden this input places on livestock farmers. Additionally, "market access" and "amount of loans received" ranked second and third respectively, demonstrating the importance of effective sales and adequate financial resources for development and sustainability of operations. Other significant sub-criteria include "livestock product insurance" and "establishing cooperatives," which play key roles in risk reduction and marketing improvement.
Conclusions: The research findings indicate that enhancing the economic performance of rural livestock farming requires focusing on optimizing support policies, reducing input costs, developing marketing infrastructure, and strengthening insurance coverage. These results can serve as a solid scientific foundation for decision-makers and policymakers in the agricultural sector to formulate development-oriented, targeted, and realistic programs.
 

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Objective: Agricultural tourism can create a new communication space and utilize existing resources in rural areas, not only strengthening the local economy but also providing a means to protect agricultural lands against the encroachment of large retailers and global food chains. Given the importance of this topic, the present study aims to examine the factors influencing the development of agricultural tourism in the rural areas of the central district of Ardabil County.
Research Methodology: This research is applied in terms of its objective and falls under descriptive-analytical studies in terms of its nature and method. Data collection was conducted through both library and field methods. The statistical population included heads of households benefiting from agricultural lands. Structural equation modeling was employed for data analysis. The sample size was estimated at 380 individuals using Cochran’s formula, and simple random sampling was conducted in each village.
Research Findings: A total of 67 components were used to examine the topic, of which seven components were removed from the model due to insufficient adequacy. The results of the initial evaluation of the measurement model indicate that the model is appropriate. The results of the structural model reveal a significant structural relationship between the development of agricultural tourism and the factors influencing it. The findings show that the highest factor loading is associated with the components of organizing cultural-recreational festivals, improving street lighting, diversifying crop patterns, and product branding. The highest t-value of 43.961 in the structural model pertains to the relationship between agricultural tourism development and socio-cultural factors.
 

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Objective: Saffron is a drought-resistant plant that is being developed as an alternative crop in the Javanroud region. Given the novelty of this crop in the study area, the aim of this study is to assesss the development of saffron cultivation in Javanroud Township.
Methods: This study uses a mix-method design (qualitative-quantitative) and a case study research method. The study population included all saffron growers and agricultural experts in Javanroud township, which were interviewed using a purposive sampling method with 16 saffron growers and 10 experts. The data were collected through semi-structured interview and a questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using SWOT analysis. Finally, using the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM), the most appropriate strategies for developing saffron cultivation in the Javanroud region were selected.
Results: Based on the results, 7 categories were identified for the strengths of saffron cultivation development, including "the possibility of a family-based production process" and "the existence of appropriate saffron production capacities in the region". Also, 7 categories of weaknesses were identified, such as "non-acceptance of saffron as a cultivation pattern" and "bulk sales and lack of appropriate packaging". The identified opportunities for saffron cultivation development were 4 categories, the most important of which were "compatibility of saffron cultivation with the regional climate" and "access to wide markets for major saffron growers". Among the important threats to saffron cultivation development, "limited market" and "lack of sufficient inputs and equipment for saffron cultivation by the Agricultural Jihad Organization" were identified. Finally, the appropriate strategy for the development of saffron cultivation in Javanroud County was the offensive strategy (SO).
Conclusions: The implication of this study can help officials in the Agricultural Jihad Organization of Kermanshah province and Javanroud township to use appropriate strategies to develop saffron cultivation.

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Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the comparative advantage and profitability of the main crops in different districts of Zanjan province in the 2016-2019 period and to rank the crops for inclusion in the cropping pattern.
Methods: In this study, the Domestic Resource Cost (DRC) was used to analyze the comparative advantage of the main crops grown in all districts of Zanjan province. This indicator is calculated on the basis of market price and shadow prices of the inputs and the products and help the researcher to analyze and to provide solutions for policy reform.
Results: A study of the four-year average of the comparative advantage index in Zanjan province showed that due to the differences in crop yields and production costs, the value and rank of comparative advantage for crops in the districts of the province are different. In general, it can be concluded that in Zanjan province, the level of comparative advantage of capital-intensive and water-intensive crops is higher than other crops.
Conclusions: The results showed that the comparative advantage of crops can be strengthened by increasing input productivity and reducing production costs in areas with sufficient water. Since having a comparative advantage does not necessarily mean that the crop is selected by farmers for the cultivation pattern, therefore it is suggested that the government direct its policies towards reducing the gap between the comparative advantage rank and the net profit of the crop so that crops with comparative advantage are included in the farmers' cultivation pattern.
 

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Objective: The aim of the present study is to investigate the role of artificial intelligence in empowering rural communities by mediating management support in rural areas of Natanz city.
Methods: This study is a descriptive survey of the field branch in terms of data collection and is applied in terms of purpose. The statistical population of the present study includes all villagers in Natanz county. The sample size was selected based on the Cochran formula as 371 people. The research tool includes a 30-question questionnaire in three sections: artificial intelligence with 5 questions, empowerment with 19 questions, and management support with 6 questions. Its validity has been examined and confirmed in a face, structural, and content manner, and its reliability has been confirmed based on the Cronbach's formula at 0/86. The collected data were analyzed based on structural equation path analysis in Smart PLS software.
Results: The results showed that artificial intelligence has an impact on empowerment with an impact coefficient of 0.636 and a T value of 12.002, artificial intelligence has an impact on management support with an impact coefficient of 0.392 and a T value of 3.875, and management support has an impact on empowerment with an impact coefficient of 0.332 and a T value of 5.533. Also, the results of the Sobel test showed that artificial intelligence has an impact on empowerment with a mediating role of management support with a T value of 678.7.
Conclusions: Based on the findings, it can be said that artificial intelligence can provide optimal methods for cultivating and harvesting crops through the analyzed data. Using artificial intelligence in educational platforms, distance education is provided for rural people. This technology can be especially useful for adolescents and young people in remote areas who have limited access to educational resources.

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Objective Designing and implementing employment programs is one of the most important tasks of the government in Iran. Government organizations are taking various measures for employment, but statistics show that despite numerous strategies and programs for job creation, the employment situation of youth has not improved and the youth unemployment rate is still higher than the average for society. This study seeks to investigate and explain the determinants of success or failure in employment programs and measures.
Methods: This study employs two methodological approaches: documentary analysis and theoretical analysis. The former examines employment policies and programs over the past two decades to identify patterns of change, while the latter provides a conceptual assessment of these policies and programs within their broader theoretical frameworks.
Results: Most research in this field, or in the context of economic growth and investment, has analyzed employment programs and measures, meaning that unless economic growth, employment programs will fail to achieve their goals. Or they have claimed that the lack of up-to-date and new titles of programs and actions is the reason for their failure. This study, by analyzing employment documents, has explained the trend of changes in the titles of employment programs, which shows that they have been updated. It then presents a sociological framework for analyzing employment programs and measures with the aim of understanding their success or failure, through theoretical analysis. A framework based on a relational approach between the three spheres of civil society, government, and the market.
Conclusions: The success or failure of employment programs and measures can be understood in terms of synergy or lack of synergy between civil society, government, and the market. It is in the proper arrangement between civil society, the government, and the market that one can hope for the success of employment programs.


 

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Purpose: Creative tourism, as a component of the vast tourism industry, can play a major role in empowering local communities, diversifying economic growth, and generating new employment opportunities in rural areas in connection with sustainable rural entrepreneurship and other economic sectors. Accordingly, the present study aims to identify the key factors and driving forces influencing the effects of creative tourism on the development of sustainable rural entrepreneurship.
Methodology: The research is applied in purpose and descriptive–analytical in nature, employing a futures studies approach. Data were collected through both documentary (library sources and scientific journals) and field methods (questionnaires). To extract the key drivers, the questionnaire was designed in five main dimensions: socio-cultural, economic, environmental, physical, and institutional-organizational. The sample population consisted of 25 experts and specialists in creative tourism and sustainable entrepreneurship. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed through expert judgment. Data analysis and structural influence analysis of the key indicators were conducted using MICMAC software.
Findings: The results revealed that among the 91 factors examined across five dimensions, 20 key drivers were identified, including: strengthening intergenerational cooperation (39), public awareness of cultural and social values (38), reducing economic dependence on agriculture (49), creating new export opportunities (49), environmental awareness of tourists (48), encouraging green businesses (47), creating natural camping sites (49), developing cultural-tourism centers (48), creating a database of rural entrepreneurs (46), increasing financial transparency (42) and etc.
Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that creative tourism can serve as an effective instrument for promoting sustainable rural entrepreneurship. Structural analysis indicates that enhancing social collaboration, revitalizing handicrafts, reducing agricultural dependency, and fostering new economic opportunities significantly contribute to rural entrepreneurial sustainability.
 

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The research was fundamental in terms of purpose and mixed and exploratory in terms of method. In the qualitative part, the inductive content analysis method was used, and in the quantitative part, the interpretive structural method with the integrated ISM-DEMATEL technique was used. The study population consisted of academic experts, welfare experts, and relevant organizations that are directly related to the employment of disabled people, and disabled people. The study population consisted of academic experts, welfare experts, and relevant organizations that are directly related to the employment of disabled people, and disabled people. Data were collected through a review of secondary studies, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and a researcher-made questionnaire. In the qualitative section, the results showed that the categories of networking and market development for products, sustainability and continuous improvement of the plan, implementation of career counseling based on the type of disability and climate, psychological capacity building and skill empowerment, financial and infrastructure support, and identification of applicants and individuals susceptible to job creation are effective factors in creating a sustainable employment model for people with disabilities. The results of the quantitative section showed that the first step was to identify applicants and people who are susceptible to job creation; the second step was to implement career counseling based on the type of disability and climate; the third step was to build psychological capacity and skill empowerment and financial and infrastructure support; and the fourth step was to build networks and markets for products, leadership, and continuous business improvement.
 

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User satisfaction in rural ecotourism accommodations has become a critical determinant of success in the tourism industry. With the rapid growth of online booking platforms such as Jabama and intensifying competition, data-driven analysis is increasingly essential for identifying the factors influencing satisfaction. Despite the growing popularity of ecotourism in Iran, few studies have applied advanced and interpretable machine learning methods to explore this topic. The rise of the sharing economy and digital accommodation platforms has transformed user experiences, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based insights.

This study collected data from 1,123 rural ecotourism lodgings listed on the Jabama platform using Python and the Selenium library. Independent variables included information quality, cleanliness, value for money, check-in experience, hosting quality, and location, while user satisfaction ratings served as the dependent variable. Regression-based models—linear regression, decision tree, random forest, gradient boosting, and support vector regression (SVR) with an RBF kernel—were implemented. Model performance was evaluated using mean squared error (MSE), the coefficient of determination (R²), and 5-fold cross-validation to ensure reliability and robustness.

The results showed that random forest and gradient boosting achieved the highest accuracy, with R² values above 0.86 and MSE below 0.012. Feature importance analysis revealed that information quality (importance score = 0.442), cleanliness, and value for money were the strongest predictors of user satisfaction. The decision tree model provided interpretable decision rules, highlighting the central role of information quality at the root level and the subsequent influence of cleanliness and value for money. These findings underscore the potential of interpretable machine learning approaches for enhancing user satisfaction analysis in Iran’s ecotourism sector and guiding data-informed managerial decisions.

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Objective: The main goal of this research is to identify, prioritize, and analyze the challenges and problems related to agriculture and natural resources in the Lower Atrak River basin, with a focus on the Chat region of Gonbad-e Kavus County. Relying on the perspectives of local elites, experts, and stakeholders, the study strives to explain the causal relationships between the human and natural factors influencing these challenges and to provide a basis for informed decision-making for sustainable resource management.
Methods: This research is qualitative in nature and applied in its objective. Data were collected through the review of upstream documents and a specialized questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale. The reliability of the research instrument was assessed using Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient. To prioritize the issues and problems, the non-parametric Friedman test was employed. Furthermore, the DPSIR conceptual model was used as the analytical framework for the research to analyze the causal relationships among the driving forces, pressures, states, impacts, and responses. 
 

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development.
 

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The empowerment of rural women and their involvement in decision making process is being considered as one of the prerequisite for achieving sustainable development. Access to small credit could well facilitate the empowerment mechanism. This study tries to answer the following question: Could access to small credit be influential on economic and psychological empowerment of women? The research method of this study is based on survey technique, filling questionnaire and documentation. The sample of this study is all of the woman of Lakestan Sub-District Salmas out of which 225 were extracted through quota sampling technique. Data were analyzed through application of T test. This paper suggests that access to small amount of credits could have a great impact on rural women's empowerment. That is those who were awarded loan were more capable and possess more self-confidence comparing with the ones who did not receive it.

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Today, with an increasingly global population, agricultural production systems should meet the growing needs of food by using the new technologies. Increases in the level of production have inevitably resulted in some environmental issues. Addressing these problems require the application of organic farming as a sustainable way of agriculture system which possesses many promised advantages. However, the development of this agricultural system faces many obstacles regarding farmers. This study aimes to qualitatively analyze the barriers and problems with respect to development of organic farming. Interviews was conducted with emphasis on Focus Group Discussion (24 Organic Growers) in Darrehshahr county (Ilam Province). Data analysis were done via both application of qualitative research method, clustering and categorizing gathered data. This study suggests that obstacles such as infrastructure, economic, lack of knowledge and awareness, technical and managerial supports, motivational and attitudinal issues were the main barriers and problems regarding the development of organic farming. These results can help agricultural planners and policy makers to improve and accelerate the development of organic farming as well as producing healthy crops.

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