Factor Analysis of the Impact of Industrial Areas on Rural Development: A Case Study of Farahan Industrial Area in Iran

Purpose: Rural industrialization is a means of technical change to improve the quality of life for the current generation in rural areas. One of the most important problems in many developing countries is that of unemployment. This paper reports a survey conducted in Farahan industrial area in Iran through which the impact of industrial areas on the development of rural regions was investigated as a case study. Methods: The population of the research included 236 employees selected in the industrial area. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect the data. Results: According to the results of the factor analysis, economic, social, and infrastructural factors explain 61% of the industrial impact on rural development. The economic factor with an impact of 29% is the most important factor. The social and infrastructural factors with impacts of 23% and 9.3% are found respectively as the second and the third influential factors in the rural industrialization of villages in Farhan County.Conclusion: To alleviate the employment problem in rural areas, setting up industries or expanding non-farm jobs can be a logical way out of the problem. Also, to raise rural people’s income and increase their tendency to stay in villages, a planned strategy is required for rural industrialization.