Investigating the Factors Affecting the Share of Food Costs of Urban and Rural Households: With Emphasis on Islam's Approach to the Household Dimension (Case Study of Isfahan Province)

Institution of the family, its functions and welfare in Islam have a special place. The share of food costs in the total household expenditure is one of the indicators of welfare and increasing the household dimension as one of its functions is affects this index. In this regard, the purpose of this study is to investigate the factors affecting the share of urban and rural households' food cost with emphasis Islam's approach to the household dimension using the least weighted least squares method  and income and expenditure data of 9578 households in Isfahan province during the period (2006-2014). The results show that with the increase of the total household cost and the change of housing of households from rural to urban, the share of food costs decreases. Also, with the increase of the household dimension and the increase of the age of the head of the household, the share of food costs in the total cost of households has increased and has led to a decrease in household welfare. Accordingly, the government should apply different support policies to increase the level of welfare of households according to the size of the household, the age of the heads of households and their place of residence.