Economy

The employment problem and the manpower in general, is a matter of great importance in economic issues. In the economy of Iran, employment is one of the main concerns of the economic policy makers. The analysis of the employment situations and its structure all over the country requires at thorough knowledge of the capacities and potential power of the regions and its combination in the areas, for an equal and balanced planning and employment in every region and areas. In order to plan and achieve the rural economic development, population is most important and even the main factor to consider, because the quantitative and qualitative changes in population has significant effects on this procedure and furthermore one of the most important issues about the population which should be considered is the employment for the provision of manpower employment can be so effective towards achievement of every countries’ development, thus the employment issue is a key and strategic issue in every economic society. Employment is the factor that gets all the mental and physical abilities of man to be applied that result in relaxation and obedience between people due to the disappearance of unemployment, preventing the migration, the use and development of exceptional talents and rise in the national gross income. The villages of the country having a lot of active force which can play an important role in the economic development, studying the spatial distribution of employment in the rural regions and planning based on that can be a way of economic development of the villages and results in the economic prosperity of the country. Since the economic activities (agriculture, industry, services) in general, and particularly the resources and facilities, have an undesirable concentration from the spatial distribution aspect, in Iran, every region requires especial programs according to its characteristics, in this regard we should identify the situation of different regions based on the suitable scientific methods, before any actions. Therefore, this paper is developed to evaluate the employment status of the major departments and groups of activity and their spatial distribution in the country. To this aim, basic parts which were exporting their workforce are identified divided into counties, using the locative quotient (LQ) index.

The purpose of this study was to understand the conditions of the regions and the major groups of economic activity (agriculture, industry and services) in the rural parts of the country. The statistical sample for this study includes 394 counties which statistics were gathered during the 2011 general census of people and housing. Using the locative quotient (LQ), the basic areas or the exporters of the working force were identified in the country and the state, and the GIS software has been used to prepare the map of major activity groups.

The results show that in agriculture, 55% of the counties of the country (215 counties) belong to the basic and the workforce exporting regions that mainly are in the West, North West and South East of the country. Since the suitable climate and soil in these regions, we can see most employment in the agricultural part in a way that they can send agricultural workforce to other regions. These regions have also an important role in the national economic development and by guiding the investments towards their agricultural part; we can help it to be more efficient in the economy of the country. In the industrial part, 26% of the counties of the country (103counties) are more than one which can be counted as basic and workforce exporting regions and are mainly is located in the states of Tehran, Mazandaran, Qom, Qazvin and the central and south parts of the country. These states have the potential to send industrial workforce to other regions, and because of the proximity to the capital, the existence of agricultural transformative industries and in some regions possession of the mines, these states have the most industrial employment in the country. These areas have a great part in the economy of the country and by financing this part and creation of employment opportunities and industrialization of the villages, their industry will prosper, that results in an industrial growth in the national economy. In the services part, 49 percent of the counties of the country (195 counties) have a locative quotient greater than one and are categorized as workforce exporter regions that are mainly located in the central, east north, west north and the south parts of the country. The reasons for the tendency of these areas of service activities include proximity to the borders and unsuitable natural conditions in some regions.

 Introduction
Environmental hazards, such as earthquakes, in rural settlements cause irreparable damage. One of the most significant damages is economic damage. Recognizing and understanding the level of economic resilience, an aspect of resilience, can be considered with appropriate planning in reducing injuries and destructive effects of environmental hazards. Avaj County in Qazvin Province is an earthquake-prone area of the country, and the degree of vulnerability and destruction of the rural settlements of this county in the earthquakes has been very high. Considering that if a place is economically upgraded, it is more suitable for living and reduces the risks. Economic resilience is one of the most critical issues in rural planning. Increasing the level of economic resilience will create satisfaction and security in the society, motivation of the residents to stay in the village environment and prevent the migration of the villagers. Therefore, more appropriate planning can be done in the village environment for crisis management. This research aims to explain the economic resilience of rural settlements in Avaj County.

 Methodology
The required information has been collected from 100 villages of Avaj County in 5 districts. In order to collect information in the scope of the study, a questionnaire capable of collecting the required information was designed, and according to the size of the households (10293) and using Cochran’s formula with an error of 0.05%, the sample size of 370 households was determined. The number of samples in each village was determined using the proportional stratified method. In order to measure the validity (internal validity) of the questionnaire, the approval of experts and professors in the field of rural studies was taken, and to measure the reliability (external validity) of the questionnaires and ensure the accuracy and repeatability of the results, Cronbach’s alpha statistical test was used. The obtained coefficient (0.963) indicates the acceptable reliability of the questionnaire for conducting research. Excel and SPSS software were used for calculations, and GIS software was used for map drawing. In order to use the information in inferential statistics, indexing steps have been taken. After weighing and applying the weights by principal component analysis, resilience scores have been obtained for comparison and conclusion. The studied villages were ranked based on economic resilience scores in three levels: low, medium, and high. Single-sample T-test has been used to prove the significance and generalizability of research results and regression analysis to show the impact of the economic dimension on resilience.

Discussion and conclusion
In this research, to investigate and analyze economic resilience, the economic dimension, which is one of the four dimensions of resilience, has been discussed and investigated. In this dimension, three components and 16 items were identified. According to the findings, the use of loans and bank grants for renovation and improvement with an average of 3.69, the amount of use of government aid to the injured with an average of 3.64, economic status and quality of buildings with an average of 3.60, were the highest average respectively. On the other hand, items of the strength of the building structure with an average of 2.43, no disruptions in work activity in the event of an earthquake with an average of 2.82, the level of satisfaction with household savings to compensate for earthquake damages, 2.82 has had the most negligible impact on economic resilience at the level of the studied villages. Regarding the resilience scores, we found that Hesar Valiasr District has the highest score of 7.99, and Eastern Kharghan District has the lowest score of economic resilience with a score of 7.23. Considering the level of the economic situation, which is higher than the average with the one-sample T-test, and also the average of the components such as the employment status and income, which is at a relatively appropriate level, it seems that the villagers do not want to change the way of building. Instead, there is a desire for traditional-native architecture and the use of materials with low resistance. Regarding the present research results, the proposed solutions in the study area include using local trustees to encourage villagers to change building construction patterns and use high-quality and earthquake-resistant materials. Also, planning to use the economic potentials of the region in addition to the agriculture and livestock sectors such as tourism and industry to create a diversity of job opportunities and non-dependence on one job and source of income and having a second job can help and is a support strategy to return to the right conditions before the risk in case of danger and losing the first job.