Mohammad Mehdi Behkish (; born 28 May 1944) is an Iranian

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and retired Associate

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

at the

Allameh Tabatabaei University Allameh Tabataba'i University (ATU; �ælɒːˈme tæbɒːtæbɒːˈʔiː, ''Dânešgâh-e allâme Tabâtabâyi'') is the largest and the leading specialized public university in humanities and social sciences in Iran. With 15,624 students and 4 ...

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

. He served as president of the Iran-Italy Chamber of Commerce for more than 21 years (1992-2013), and is currently president of the Presidency Council. He has been the executive director (Secretary General) of the Iranian National Committee of ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) in Iran since 1985.

Early life and education

Behkish was born in

Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, where he attended high school. He earned his

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

Tehran University The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

(1967), his M.A. in

in University of Western Ontario in Canada (1971), and his Ph.D. in Econometrics & Economic Development in

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

in Bloomington,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, United States (1977). Upon returning to

in 1978, he joined Abureyhan University, which was later integrated with various other universities and institutions to establish Alameh Tabatabaei University after the

Islamic Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Im ...

Career

Behkish's career was formed in an environment in which his business experiences complemented his academic work in the university. He began his various positions in different Chamber in Iran with a consultative position, before being raised sharply to higher positions such as Secretary General of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Vice Chairman & S.G. of ICC in Iran, and President of Iran-Italy Chamber (for which he received Knight of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity (cavaliere) from the President of State of Italy in 2009). Behkish is among a few economists whose advice is well considered in both the

Private Sector The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The private sector employs most of the workfo ...

and

Public Sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, pu ...

. He strongly believes in

market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production, and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand. The major characteristic of a mark ...

, and has pushed strongly for joining

WTO The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

before it became almost impossible. He has tried continuously to push the government to liberalize the

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

, using his seat in the University or his official positions in chambers. Due to Behkish's work with the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) for more than 25 years, he is well aware of the benefits of

globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

, and hence, in addition to writing his books on such related subjects, he kept a window open in the country to connect interested businessman to international business communities.

Publications

Books

Behkish has published four books, with the latest being "Iranian Economy in the Context of Globalization" in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, which used IMD (International Institute for Management Development) as a model for measuring competitiveness of an

. His other books are primarily applications of

economic liberalization Economic liberalization, or economic liberalisation, is the lessening of government regulations and restrictions in an economy in exchange for greater participation by private entities. In politics, the doctrine is associated with classical liber ...

, conducted with the cooperation of two other colleagues from his work with the Ministry of Mines & Metals.

Articles

Behkish is also a columnist in a variety of economic newspapers & magazines. His list of published contains more than 250 articles & 150 interviews.

References

External links

Iran-Italy Chamber of CommerceFounders of Irano British Chamber of Commerce, Industries & MinesList of Behkish's Articles in magazinesIranian e-Commerce Scientific AssociationDr. Behkish’s PhD Thesis:“Economics of investing in human capital: the case of Iran”Oral History: Interview with Dr. BehkishArticles web page of ICCIran (in Persian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Behkish, Mohammad Mehdi 1944 births Living people 20th-century Iranian economists University of Tehran alumni University of Western Ontario alumni Indiana University Bloomington alumni 21st-century Iranian economists