Mohsen Aghayari Hir, Sadra Karimzadeh, Afshin Yeganeh,
Volume 14, Issue 51 (6-2025)
Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to model the factors affecting the sustainability of economic development in the villages of Malekan County.
Methods: The statistical population included experts, specialists, and rural households in the County. In the first stage, 28 professionals evaluated 56 research propositions based on their importance. In the second stage, 481 people from selected villages responded to 41 items related to rural economic sustainability. The data were analyzed using Q-factor analysis in SPSS and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in SMART PLS software.
Results: The results of the measurement model indicated that the factor loadings of the observed variables were significant and effectively measured their corresponding latent variables. The structural model results revealed that the "economic stability of Malekan County’s villages" had a high predictive power, with an index value exceeding the standard threshold of 0.35, indicating a "strong" effect. Other factors namely, "vulnerability, productivity and economic diversity," "employment and economic infrastructure," and "access to economic and production resources" each scored above 0.15, showing a "moderate" predictive impact on the model's endogenous latent variables.
Conclusions: The findings identified three core factors influencing the sustainability of rural economic development: 1. vulnerability, productivity, and economic diversity (sustainability and economic welfare); 2. employment and economic infrastructure (justice and economic welfare); and 3. access to economic and production resources (economic welfare). Final comparisons and validation between qualitative and quantitative approaches confirmed that the first factor economic vulnerability (productivity and diversity) was the most influential, with consensus from both experts and local community members.
