An Analysis of the Spatial Distribution of expense and Income of Rural Households in Iran

1. Investigating the developments of rural society from the past to the present, it has been shown that rural areas face with fundamental difficulties and problems at different levels in various socio-economic and ecological dimensions. The continuation of this situation has caused problems such as exacerbation of regional inequalities, the abandonment of efficient rural and material capital in villages, the ever-increasing decline in food production and the emergence of food crises, population accumulation in urban societies, and the spread of marginalization, unemployment and social damage. Considering the fact that villagers are among the most deprived groups of the society, and bearing in mind that the types of economic and livelihood activities, sources of income, and expenditure in rural and urban areas are very different, many differences and inequality have been observed in the expense and income of rural and urban households over the past few decades. Therefore, the recognition and analysis of spatial distribution of expense and income of rural households are of high importance. The study of income distribution in villages indicates the fact that, in comparison with cities, the distribution of income in rural areas is more unbalanced. One of the important factors in achieving sustainable rural development is to balance the expense and income of rural households in the country. Considering the importance of expense and income of rural households in rural and national economy, the aim of this study is the spatial analysis of the distribution of income and expenditure of rural households in different provinces of the country during the period 1996-2012. In other words, this study investigates the trend from the beginning of the Second Economic, Social, and Cultural Development Plan of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the beginning of the fifth plan. Considering the time of the compilation of the sixth plan, the attitude of authorities towards small areas, especially rural ones, can remove this heavy burden from the government and make a complete comprehensive plan with respect to self-reliance of rural communities.
Therefore, the main question in this study is as follows: Is the spatial distribution of household expenditure and income in rural areas equal and balanced in the country?
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: One of the main concerns of economic and social development planners of the country is the improvement of quality of life and social welfare in the society. Since social welfare of households depends on their income and that the proper distribution of income increases the level of social welfare in the whole society and the majority of households, equal distribution of income is one of the country's development planning purposes. One of the dimensions of the fair distribution of income is its space dimension. Investigating the spatial distribution of expense and income of rural households can help planners to understand the spatial distribution as well as income gaps and related reasons. Therefore, in order to achieve the desired goal of equal distribution of income in rural households, it is necessary to find out the spatial distribution of expense and income in rural households of the country and provide balanced solutions and optimize the spatial distribution.
3. The method of this study, with respect to its purpose, is that of applied studies, and the method of data collection is documentary, and it was gained from Iran's Statistics Center. The statistical data collected in this study include total annual income of rural households, income gained from salaries, earnings from freelancers, miscellaneous incomes as well as the total annual expense of rural households, food expenses- tobacco and non-fiscal charges – and tobacco which is shared among the provinces of the country. Moreover, ArcGis10.2 software was used to study spatial distribution of rural household's expenditure and income.
4. The findings show that the expense of households decreased from 56.1% in 1986 to 41.1% in 2001 and 31.2% in 2011 in a positive direction. On the other hand, the villagers have enjoyed a better and more favorable living standard by changing their consumption patterns (from food to nonfood and tobacco). So that the growth of non-food expenses and TobaccoTo Food and tobacco In the year 2011 Compared to 2012 years About 39 percent. While at the same time the expense of food and tobacco Only 22.3 percent growth. During this period, the share of agricultural businesses in reducing the income of rural households has been reduced while the share of non-agricultural businesses and other occupations has increased.
5. In general, the findings of this study showed that during the period of time examined, income inequality in rural areas of the country has decreased. Although this decline is very slow, it reflects the process of adjusting income inequalities in rural households. The amount of income earned in the provinces of Tehran and Khorasan Razavi is more than other provinces. The income gained from free jobs in the villages of Kurdistan, Semnan, and Ardebil is good which shows the role of agriculture in these provinces as it plays a pivotal role in increasing the income of free-owned rural households in these provinces. Regarding the income of rural households, the provinces of Hamedan, and Sistan and Baluchestan have the highest income. In addition, the results of the study showed that rural households in Kurdistan province have the highest amount of annual expenditure on food and tobacco with 78%. Regarding non-food and tobacco expense, rural households in Tehran, Qom and Lorestan provinces were the most expensive, and with regard to the difference in expense and annual income of rural households, Khorasan Razavi and Kurdistan provinces experienced the highest positive difference.