Consumption of Different Kinds of Energy Carriers, Economic Growth, Inequality and Poverty in Iran

The purpose of this study is to measure the effect of consumption of different kinds of energy carriers in Iran, which caused poverty and inequality in the process of economic, social and cultural development of countries. For this purpose, we use annual data from 1984 to 2010 through a simultaneous equations model using Two-Stage Least Square (2SLS) and Three-Stage Least Square (3SLS) estimators. The results indicate that the effect of various energy carriers on inequality is different. Gasoline consumption leads to inequality enhancement but natural gas and electricity consumption lead to inequality reduction. Fuel oil, kerosene and gasoil have the different effects on inequality due to different indexes of inequality. On the other hand, energy carrier consumption leads to poverty reduction and natural gas and electricity are more effective to reduce poverty. Thus, the direct effect of energy consumption on poverty is confirmed. Totally, the results indicate that the indirect effect of all energy carriers on poverty trough inequality reduction is not confirmed, though all energy carriers on economic growth has a positive effect, and the indirect effect of economic growth on poverty reduction is confirmed.