Dr. G. Reza Moghadam Award

The Dr. G. Reza Moghadam Award is presented to a scholar whose work has made a meaningful contribution to the study of Iran’s development and economy. The award honors the achievements of the recipient and recognizes the impact of their work in academia and in practice on promoting sustainable development and economic prosperity in Iran. The selection committee includes economists and scholars, inside and outside Iran, chaired by Stanford Professor of Economics John B. Taylor. The recipient is awarded $25,000 and invited to deliver a public lecture at Stanford. The award is made possible by a generous gift from Hamid and Christina Moghadam in memory of Dr. G. Reza Moghadam.

Dr. G. Reza Moghadam (PhD ’56) was an Iranian economist who spent much of his life in service of development in Iran, as a scholar, a civil servant, and a banker. He received his PhD in economics from Stanford University in 1956 under the supervision of Tibor Scitovsky and mentorship of Paul Baran. His dissertation focused on the trajectory of trade between Iran and the Soviet Union, England, and Germany, and shed light on critical aspects of Iran’s modern history.

Dr. Moghadam's professional career in economics began at the IMF in Washington D.C. and continued upon his return to Iran in 1956 to work with the Iranian government. He was an economist on the High Economic Council and the Plan Organization before becoming deputy secretary of the Ministry of Commerce. He played an important role in the creation of the Central Bank of Iran by developing the legislation authorizing its creation and serving among its executives. In 1969, he became the deputy director of the Plan Organization and was among the chief architects of its Fifth Development Plan. Dr. Moghadam was among those who cautioned against the inflationary and social risks of too rapid growth through unconstrained fiscal spending and advocated for building the domestic supply-side through infrastructure investment combined with fiscal responsibility. 

After leaving the government, Dr. Moghadam, continued his development efforts in the private sector. Together with his brother, Mohsen, they founded the Development and Investment Bank of Iran, along with a syndicate of domestic and international institutional investors. Dr. Moghadam led this bank until the revolution, growing it to become the largest private bank in Iran. After the revolution, when all the development banks were nationalized and merged, he briefly served as the president of the resulting Industrial Development Bank. Later, he consulted for the IMF before eventually retiring in London.