Assessing the Economic Effects of Iran’s Membership in Shanghai Cooperation Organization: An Application of Global Simulation Model

Today, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is considered as a major regional organization in order to pursue trade liberalization among it’s members. Since Iran is now an observer state in the Shanghai Convention and is at the stage of its accession to the treaty, the purpose of this study is to assess the potential economic impacts of Iran's membership in the SCO using the Global Simulation model (GSIM). Accordingly, four scenarios including 25%, 50% and 75% reduction in tariff rates (incomplete liberalization) and 100% eliminatiom (full liberalization) in tariff rates are considered. The effects of tariff liberalization are estimated at 13 major export commodities in both scenarios. Research findings suggest that joining Iran into the Shanghai organization and eliminating tariff rates will increase the net welfare and cause trade creation in the Iran and Shanghai bloc. However, the welfare effects and the degree of trade creation in full liberalization are more than incomplete liberalization.Therefore, it is possible to consider Iran’s membership in the Shanghai agreement as a useful convergence.