Commercial Surveys

Commercial Surveys

Structural and Institutional Barriers to the Application of Gaam Bonds in the Iranian Steel Industry: Explaining the Role of Network Complexity and Contagion Risk

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Hamed Adeli Nik 1
Hasan Ghanbari Maman 2
Morteza Tahami Pour 3
mohamad hosein pourkazemi 3
1 PhD Candidate in Monetary Economics, Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University
2 Assistant Professor in Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Shahid Beheshti University, haghanbari@ sbu.ac.ir
3 Assistant Professor in Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Shahid Beheshti University
10.22034/bs.2026.2089427.3244
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the “credit transmission capacity” within the supply chain of Iran’s steel industry, focusing on the role of innovative financial instruments such as “Gaam Bonds” in managing working capital. The central problem addressed is identifying the optimal threshold for applying these instruments in multi-tier supply networks, where institutional costs and systemic risks may outweigh financial benefits. Adopting an analytical-qualitative approach and leveraging theories from institutional economics and production network analysis, this study demonstrates that the success of credit transmission is not merely a function of quantitative expansion, but is fundamentally dependent on the “production correlation structure” and the positioning of the instrument within key “anchor” nodes of the network. The findings reveal that the effective depth of credit transmission is a function of the distance from the anchor node. Furthermore, “information asymmetry” and “transaction costs” in deeper supply tiers create a threshold, denoted as d∗d^*d∗, beyond which the efficiency of these instruments diminishes. Comparative analysis shows that Gaam Bonds, due to uncertainties in discount rates and liquidity constraints, possess lower penetration in the steel ingot ring compared to traditional Letters of Credit (LC). Finally, the research suggests that policy-making in this domain should shift from individual firm-level focus toward a network-centric approach, prioritizing liquidity stabilization at strategic bottleneck nodes.
Keywords
Gam Bonds
Suooly Chaik finance
Deep Tier Financing
Iranian Steel Industry Supply Chain
Commercial Surveys

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 02 June 2026

  • Receive Date 23 May 2026
  • Revise Date 02 June 2026
  • Accept Date 02 June 2026