Authors
1 Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran
2 PhD in Economic Sociology and Development, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Economics, Management and Social Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
Abstract
Highlights
Introduction
Development as a multidimensional process requires fundamental changes and developments in all dimensions and aspects of time and space. Its imbalance refers to factors such as natural and geographical conditions, demographic characteristics, planning and policy structure, and the direction of economic investments, which brings degrees of development for some regions of the country and degrees of underdevelopment for other regions compared to more developed regions. In Iran, economic and industrial development has been accompanied by unbalanced development. This has caused imbalance and equilibrium in the development of economic and industrial sectors in border provinces due to geographical, economic, and political reasons and ,consequently, capacities and potentials have remained potential. The present study, taking these matters into account, seeked to answer the question of why despite the capacities and potentials, economic and industrial development in the mining sector in Kurdistan province has not achieved its position. In other words; What are the contexts, causes, and consequences, and what solutions can be offered to improve the situation?
Methodology
The method used in this research was qualitative. Of qualitative methods, the grounded theory method was used. The statistical population in this research, using the grounded data method, was selected to identify the contexts, causes, and consequences of the underdevelopment of the mining sector in Kurdistan Province and to determine what views elites, managers, and informed individuals had regarding the development and underdevelopment of this sector in the province. Accordingly, interviews were conducted with 15 people from the target population. Consequently, the interview reached theoretical saturation. The theoretical saturation of the category was the basis for judging the time to stop sampling from different groups related to that category. The interview strategy in this research was a semi-structured interview, and the interview time varied between 60 and 120 minutes. The sampling method was a purposeful theoretical sampling method with maximum diversity. In order to validate the data, two types of interpretive validity and theoretical validity were used.
Experimental study
Daneshmehr (2023), in his article “The Disappearance of Local Development Capacities in Kurdistan Province (Proposing a Data-Based Theory in the Field of Water Resources Management)”, examined the areas of underdevelopment of Kurdistan Province in the water sector with grounded theory and from perspective of elites. The results showed that water can act as one of the important drivers of development in Kurdistan Province and activate other development capacities in the province such as agriculture, tourism, mines and industry. Ahmadi (2019), in his article “The Role of Mining in the Population Absorption and Sustainability of Human Settlements (Case Study: Settlements in Kurdistan Province)”, examined the impact of mining on the sustainability and population absorption of settlements adjacent to mines in Kurdistan Province. The results showed that mines play an important role in the sustainability of villages in Kurdistan Province.
Theoretical Framework
A conceptual framework of economic and industrial development concepts was adopted under the theories of Norea’s balanced growth and Hirschman's unbalanced growth, and Schumpeter's economic development theories, which consider economic and industrial development to be the basis for eliminating underdevelopment and emphasize the importance of a continuous, process-based, and sustainable development.
Results and discussion
Despite its development potential in the industrial, mining, and trade sectors, Kurdistan Province ranks among the last provinces in the country in terms of the activities under review. In fact, the main obstacles to the development in these sectors, especially the mining sector of the province, were identified and examined based on interviews conducted with experts, scholars and managers of relevant organizations and institutions and economic activists in this sector. The extracted categories included 18 primary categories and 7 main categories under the titles of "weak industrial and communication infrastructure", "lack of investment opportunities and state ownership of mines", "administrative and security obstacles to mines", "polarization of the distribution of industrial and mining activities among the provinces", "institutional and civil conflicts" and "raw material sales".
Conclusion
The results showed that the weakness of the province's industrial and communication infrastructure provided the basis for the underdevelopment of the mining sector. According to the interviewees, the main prerequisite and basis for the development of the industrial and mining sectors was the existence of appropriate infrastructure and communication networks at the interprovincial levels and in the commercial areas of neighboring countries, which the province is in an unfavorable situation. The reluctance of investors, the existence of a brokerage market and capital transfer, the long-term nature of investment, and the capital-intensive nature of mining activities have caused a decrease and lack of investment in this sector, and the fact that mines are state-owned has also contributed toit , which ultimately has caused the causal conditions for the underdevelopment of this sector. In addition to these conditions, administrative obstacles such as administrative bureaucracy, lack of bank credit, and lack of institutional support have caused this sector to lose economic and industrial dynamism, Furthermore the securitization of mines has also acted as an obstacle in the exploitation of the capacities and potentials of this sector. It is also concluded that the polarization of the distribution of industrial and mining activities among the provinces and institutional and civil conflicts have created the consequences of underdevelopment of the mining sector. In this regard, experts, scholars and managers of the organizations and relevant institutions and economic activists have adopted raw material sales as a strategy for operating in this sector. This strategy indicates the consequence of underdevelopment and at the same time the reproduction of the province's underdevelopment in the mining sector and the loss of capacities.
Keywords
Main Subjects