U rban poverty has long been a concern of urban and development debates, and has been an important focus in social science research. Informal settlement in Mashhad city is highlighted because of its wide spreading and severity. This study aimed to determine the causes of urban poverty in informal settlement regions. The data were collected from household level questionnaire in 2016 a...

Gender changes in the workplace during the transition from central planning are analyzed using household survey data from the Kyrgyz Republic. As the labor market became more market-driven between 1993 and 1997, mean differences by gender in labor force participation (LFP), monthly compensation and hourly wage all narrowed. We also observe gender differences in educational attainment, labor for...

Using a large number of sources, this paper documents the sharp and continuous decline of arranged marriages (AM) around the world during the past century, and describes the factors associated with this transition. To understand these patterns, I construct and empirically test a model of marital choices that assumes that AM serve as a form of informal insurance for parents and children, whereas...

This paper examines the possible choices and energy security plans of China, focusing on its relations with I.R Iran and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East. Needless to say, these two rival countries in the region are both among the top oil producers of the world and China has deep and old cooperation with both countries. Meanwhile in its new strategy, China tries to establish a kind of balance am...