The Role of the Namayande in Iran's Textile Industry

The Iranian textile industry still remains important as one of the largest sources of employment within the non-petroleum sector, although it no longer plays the large role it used in the country's economy (having been replaced by petroleum as the economy's primary industry). The subject of this study are middlemen known as namayande in the Iranian textile industry who plays a very important role in the operations of the innumerable small and medium-sized private firms. When private firms import materials from abroad, namayande make the connections between them and foreign sellers. These middlemen are not local sales agents of foreign companies as is usually the case; rather the namayande specialize in purchasing goods for local buyers. This study will point out some of the reasons why the namayande exist, and examine the present state of Iran's textile industry along with the particular management problems found within the firms' operations.

The Sheepskin Marketing Channel in Ethiopia after Liberalization: The Survival Strategies of the Participants

Sheepskin market in Ethiopia seems to enjoy the benefits of the economic liberalization policy since 1991, such as price deregulation or liberalization of economic activities. The close observation on the profiles and activities of each actor in the marketing channel, however, illustrates that the actors have tried to complement the lack of appropriate infrastructure and legal protection, which should be provided by the government, through utilizing their social and blood ties. While these ties have implemented the role of the government, there are risks that the marketing channel might be developed based on coalition with social network and the poor without the network would be excluded.

Does Quality Matter in the Iron and Scrap Trade?

This paper sheds light on the iron and steel (IS) scrap trade to examine how economic development affects the quality demanded of recyclable resource. A simple model is presented that show a mechanism of how scrap quality impacts the direction of trade due to comparative advantage. We find that economic development in both importing and exporting countries has a positive effect on the quality of traded recyclables. Developed countries that intend to improve the domestic recovery of recyclables should raise the quality of separating recyclables while developing countries should tighten environmental regulations to help decrease the import of recyclables that cause pollution.