Planning and Power in Iran

Format:Print

Abstract

This book provides a biography of Abol Hassan Ebtehaj, who headed Iran's central bank and Plan Organization during the 1940s and 1950s. It provides a wide-ranging survey of the problems of modernization and economic planning in Iran. Ebtehaj was at the center of decision-making in Iran after World War 2, and strove to harness Iran's oil wealth for the purposes of development. He was a bitter critic of official corruption and excessive military spending, and eventually resigned from office in 1959. The book makes the argument that if the Shah had followed Ebtehaj's policies, the Islamic Revolution in 1979 might have been avoided.