Analysis of Factors Accountable for Rural Economic Underdevelopment (Case Study: Rural Areas of Rasht, North of Iran)

Purpose: The current research aimed at identifying the obstacles affecting the underdevelopment of the rural economy of Rasht in the north of Iran. Methodology: The research is a qualitative-quantitative applied study. The statistical population in this research is the villages of Rasht County. A group of researchers, specialists, and executive managers related to economic development were selected. These individuals are chosen using the qualitative research method and a snowball sampling method. Therefore, 20 researchers, experts, and managers were designated. The data analysis methods were qualitative (grounded theory) and FARAS.  Results: From the experts’ point of view, the underdevelopment of villages in Rasht county is due to the weakness of databases for rural industries, lack of amenities and facilities, limited agriculture and livestock processing technology, the excessive number of organizations for rural affairs, and the lack of coordination between them, lack of legal and financial support, limited markets for agricultural and livestock products, and weakness of educational programs. Also, the results from ARAS fuzzy showed that the excessive number of organizations for rural affairs, with a weight of 0.441, is the most influential factor. Conclusion: Examining the issues raised in the current research shows that the economic development of the villages of Rasht city is a complex phenomenon with many obstacles to sustainability. Therefore, knowing the different aspects of living in the village and their barriers is necessary to maintain the future of the villages of Rasht.