Economic growth and human capital in Iran: A phenomenological study in a major Central Asian economy

There has been much research undertaken over the years to better identify the factors leading to both firm and economic growth. These range from building an understanding of innovation, particularly of non-rivalous goods to better examining the increasing returns present in increasingly networked economies. In Central Asia, studies of firm and accompanying economic growth have been more on the quantitative side in examining aggregate factors such as industry productivity and the resulting impact on GDP. The current research seeks to review the economic growth literature and its links with innovation and human capital in the context of a Central Asian economy. Top down and particularly bottom up policy implications are also examined. An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) is also taken in interviewing Iranian researchers and experts from the areas of economics, entrepreneurship, science and technology, and public policy. They are interviewed to illustrate how innovative human capital can contribute to firm development and economic growth in a major Central Asian economy not normally associated with innovative human capital and new ventures. Potential implications for firm growth through innovation and enhanced human capital are identified and linked to the Central Asian context and its traditional, historical attention to individual development and the freedom to “have a go.”