Capital at the Margins: Logics of Investment Across Iran's Private and Semi-Public Sectors

What sort of capitalism exists on the Islamic Republic? What are the criteria by which capital moves in and around the commanding heights of the economy? It depends where one looks and how one measures. This paper utilizes recent data from Tehran Stock Exchange for 2013-14 to measure sectoral concentration, institutional ownership, and relative shares of private versus semi-public capital in key economic sectors (steel, auto, mining, petrochemicals, etc) in Iran. By doing so, we can establish a realistic picture of Iran's corporate structure and link institutional investors with their associated socio-political positions -- particularly in military funds, paramilitary funds, endowed funds, pension funds, public and private holding funds and banks. In this manner, we can better assess and analyze the broad and growing swath of Iran’s economy that is shared between para-statal and private spheres, as well as operationalize these findings for comparison with other MENA and middle-income countries.