Neoliberalism, as a collection of ideas and policies based on market liberalization, the reduction of government intervention, privatization, and integration into the global economy, has fulfilled a significant role in the transformations of the political economy of countries since the final decades of the twentieth century. From the 1970s onwards, the economic foundations of neoliberalism, such as downsizing the government and privatization, as well as the attraction of foreign capital and trade liberalization, have been recognized as being among the most important requisites for economic development, particularly for Third World countries. The present research, by employing an analytical and descriptive approach, seeks to answer this fundamental question: what approach did the second Pahlavi government and the Hashemi Rafsanjani administration possess towards the neoliberal economy, and what was the outcome of pursuing these policies on the economy of Iran? The structural reforms of the second Pahlavi government, particularly within the framework of the "White Revolution," despite theoretical disparities with classical neoliberalism, possessed elements such as the reinforcement of market logic, the development of dependent capitalism, and alteration in state-society relations, which entailed consequences such as disproportionate growth, the deepening of inequality, and economic dependency. In the second period, subsequent to the conclusion of the Imposed War, the policies of structural adjustment, privatization, and economic liberalization were implemented in the Construction Government (Dawlat-i Sāzandagī), inspired by the dominant models of the global economy. The findings of the research indicate that the efforts of the governments towards applying the neoliberal economic prescription, aside from achieving a degree of development and short-term economic prosperity, have not attained substantial success. Structural obstacles such as dependency on a rentier economy, the brokerage activities of the private sector, the hastiness of development programs, and the dissatisfaction of traditional economic and financial institutions with the privatization process, in both timeframes prior to and subsequent to the victory of the Revolution, have been among the most important effective dilemmas in this regard. Furthermore, although these policies culminated in the amelioration of certain macroeconomic indicators, they simultaneously exacerbated challenges such as the expansion of the class divide, the undermining of social justice, and
the alteration of the government's role in the economy. This study emphasizes the necessity of an indigenous and critical understanding of neoliberalism in analyzing the transformations of the political economy of
Iran.