Speaker: Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, Professor of Economics, Virginia Tech; Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; and editor of the Middle East Development Journal.

In July 2015, most Iranians received the signing of the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers with jubilation.  But a year and a half later they are divided over its benefits and many are ambivalent about the value of engaging with the global economy.  Popular perceptions about globalization are important for President Rouhani’s re-election chance, prospects for political moderation and economic growth in Iran, and the fate of the nuclear agreement itself.  In this talk Professor Djavad Salehi-Isfahani will trace political divisions over globalization to Iran’s particular mode of interaction with the global economy, exchanging oil for imports, and discuss how economic policy can lessen these divisions and help move the country forward.