Labour transfer and economic development: theoretical case studies from Iran.

The book examines the role of labour transfer from agriculture to other sectors of the economy in the development process, utilizing three case studies from Iran's experience to explore key themes emerging from the theoretical debates. Chapter 2 is a critical review and an appraisal of the different theories of labour transfer from the classical economists through to Marx and the contemporary development theorists. Chapter 3 takes up the first of these with a study of Persian migration to southern Russia at the turn of the 19th century. Chapters 4 and 5 deal with the second, which concerns labour transfer during the 1960s or the decade of the land reforms. The former provides a general overview of the programme and examines its results, whereas the latter focuses on its implications for labour transfer. Chapter 6 presents the third and final of these case studies, relating to the 1970s or the oil boom years. Chapters 7 and 8 pursue the migration and the labour transfer of these two latter decades in more detail. The former focuses on the rural context, seeking to establish the relative significance of labour transfer, its characteristics, and its effects on the rural economy. The latter re-examines labour transfer from the perspective of the urban areas, in an attempt to assess its relative contribution and effects on the receiving sectors and areas. Finally, Chapter 9 summarizes the results and offers the main conclusions of the book.