EFFECT OF DIVISION ON REGIONAL ECONOMIC GROWTH IN IRAN

Division is the most important dimension internationally. Religion, ethnicity, and language are among the main attributes that lead to divisions between places. The paper examines the effects of Division regional economic growth, using Panel Data model for 28 province of Iran over the period 2000-2006. We concentrate on religious division2 and measure division by Fragmentation index and Polarization index. The results show that religious division (Fragmentation index and Polarization index) has positive effect on regional economic growth and enhance productivity and economic growth.