Sanctions and Socio-Economic Change in Iran: Evidence, Mechanisms, and Policy Trade-offs

Description

This article surveys recent evidence on the economic, social, and political effects of sanctions on Iran. It argues that sanctions operate through macroeconomic contraction, institutional adaptation, and distributional change. They weaken growth, investment, and the middle class, while generating health, environmental, and informalsector costs. Yet they have not produced major political change, instead reinforcing some existing power structures.