Consumption Inequality in the Rural Households of Iran

This study aims to assess the inequality in consumption among rural households in Iran and identify the contributing factors. Initially, we gauge consumption inequality using household income and expenditure statistics published by the Statistics Center of Iran in 2019. Subsequently, we analyze the impact of significant demographic factors within households, including gender, education, and the generational status of household heads, on consumption inequality. We accomplish this through Gini coefficient analysis and quantile regression. The analysis of the Gini coefficient reveals that age groups and the generational status of household heads provide a more effective representation of the observed inequality within the studied households compared to other demographic features. Employing quantile regression to investigate the asymmetric effects of the mentioned demographic factors on the distribution of households' per capita consumption indicates that various segments of consumption expenditure distribution exhibit asymmetric responses to these factors. Household income has a positive influence on the distribution of household consumption expenditures. However, its impact is 60% greater on the right side of the distribution than on the left side. In cases where the household head is female, per capita expenditures are reduced by one million and three hundred thousand Tomans. Notably, the sign of this coefficient consistently remains negative across different quantiles, albeit with varying magnitudes. Ultimately, households with higher education levels or belonging to older age categories demonstrate greater average per capita expenditures compared to households with lower education levels or younger household heads.