The poor and the middle class
A recent article on Tehran Bureau’s website portrayed urban Iran as “a sea of poverty”. This stark description was based on the calculations made by three Iranian researchers that showed as many as 55% of urban Iranians were below a poverty line set at 58,035 rials per person per day (more on the methodology of the paper later). For an unpublished study that was relegated to the poster sessions of a conference in Tehran it has been hugely successful, getting quoted in dozens of Persian and English language websites. The reason is not the study’s novelty of techniques or approach, which is standard, but is its extravagant claim about Iran’s poverty rate, which appeals to those who think the news portends political change. Although I have seen even higher claims of poverty rates for Iran (as high as 90%), those did not make it to the prestigious TB, which is part of the PBS/Frontline website. So I decided to write a reply to set the record straight. (more…)
More on Iran’s subsidy reform
This oped of mine on Iran’s subsidy reform appeared on the Brookings website on Thursday. Suzanne Maloney of Brookings also wrote a nice piece on the same program, viewing it as a possible solution to Iran’s economic problems, which is a fresh approach instead of the more usual view that we have come to expect from commentators in Iran and the West — as the harbinger of economic ruin. I think the program’s initial success to raise prices at one go without mass protests is noteworthy, and perhaps a model for other Middle Eastern countries to follow, but its overall success depends on two things: (a) whether consumers will use the cash rebate to pay their energy bills and buy local goods and services, like health and education, or spend it on luxuries imported from China, like LCD televisions; and (b) whether producers can manage to stay afloat, by hook or crook, without shutting down or laying off many workers, long enough for the economy to adjust to the new price levels. Both of these depend on complimentary economic policies that the government will introduce in the next few months to improve the business climate in Iran. As usual, reform of the markets for labor, credit and foreign exchange are at the top of the list for action.
Iran’s place in the world distribution of income
Branko Milanovic is a leading authority on the global distribution of income. His influential 2005 book, Worlds Apart provided the most comprehensive account of how global inequality has evolved over time. He has just completed the sequel (The Haves and the Have-Nots, Basic Books, forthcoming), which updates his earlier analysis using survey data on income and expenditures from 119 countries for 2005. He finds that despite rapid economic growth in China and India, two very large and poor countries, in recent years global inequality has remained constant and very high (Gini index = 0.80). I asked him to help me understand where Iran was located in the global distribution of income, and he produced this amazing graph. (more…)
Greater equity through redistribution: what can the targeting of subsidies do?
The Fifth Five-Year Plan of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1389-93, 2010–14), still under review by the parliament, has a clear goal for reducing inequality in five years– a Gini index of 0.35 for income. This is a substantial reduction from the high level of inequality that has plagued Iran in recent years. The law for targeting of subsidies, which was passed last January but is still in limbo, is the main instrument for reaching this target. It aims to raise prices of energy products to world prices during the plan period and redistribute half of the proceeds to lower income households. How radical would the redistribution have to be for the government to reach its inequality goal? (more…)
Off target in subsidy reform
This week the bill to target subsidies, intended mainly to reduce subsidies for energy products, left Iran’s parliament (majlis) for the Guardian Council. The Council has the last word on matters legislative, and may well decide to kill the bill because the government does not want to implement it with the modifications added by the parliament. President Ahmadinejad, known more for its populist inclinations than pro-market sentiments, has taken an unlikely position to reform Iran’s $60 billion subsidy program (more than 15% of national income) on energy, food, and a few other items. But the dispute over who should control the revenues saved from the bill’s implementation (the subsidy fund, for short) threatens to derail this historic effort to wean Iranians off cheap energy. If the bill survives the Guardian Council, it is sure to die in implementation. Raising prices for basic commodities in the highly charged post-election political atmosphere of Iran is difficult enough, an unwillingness government is not likely to forge ahead with doing so. (more…)
Reform of energy subsidies
At long last and after decades of talking about doing something about the subsidies, there is a bill before Iran’s majlis to target (but not remove) subsidies. I could not locate the bill itself but my impression is that it only addresses energy subsidies and not other subsidies such as food and medicine. So far only 5 of the bill’s 14 articles have been passed, but the government already has the mandate to raise prices on energy products over the next five years. The bill has been criticized from both the Right and the Left, which leads me to think it must be a move in the right direction. (more…)
The Revolution and the Rural Poor
A short article of mine with this tile just came out in the latest issue of the Radical History Review (restricted access). This is an unlikely outlet for me, but then to say anything positive about Iran these days sounds radical. The problem that critics ignore is that, although policies matter greatly, all improvements in living standards, health and education are in the end the achievements of individuals, families, and communities. A rural girls who studies at night derives hope somewhere from a society that says to her you belong and if you work hard we will treat you fairly, but without parents who encourage her, she will probably not go to school. (more…)
Is the election pitting the poor vs. the middle class?
Every day this seems more like the real story of the 2009 election. Class lines are more clearly drawn in this election than in the past. The common political narrative of reformers vs. conservatives is good description but not good political analysis. Political leanings have social and economic roots that makes them sensitive to the internal dynamics of the society. There are two fault lines that run deep in the Iranian society–the rural vs. urban and the poor vs. the middle class–both of which seem to be reflected in the political divisions that have come to the fore in this election. Crude personal observations (backed by TV images!) suggest that the supporters of the two leading candidates are socially diverse: the poor (and the rural?) are more likely to vote for Mr. Ahmadinejad and the middles class in either location is for Mr. Moussavi. (more…)
Rising inequality in Iran: who is to blame?
There have been reports of rising inequality under the Ahmadinejad’s administration (for example, in the Persian sites of Rastak and Aftab), which, unlike their claims for rising poverty, are grounded in facts. Survey data show convincingly that inequality has increased in the last few years, but what has caused it is uncertain and subject to dispute. The popular explanation (popular among reformists) for the rise in inequality in recent years is, of course, President Ahmadinejad policies. But there is a deeper, somewhat related, explanation which should not be overlooked– the oil boom itself. Deciding which explanation is more important goes to the heart of political economy questions that have occupied many minds in Iran in recent years. (more…)
Stagnant rural incomes
The gap between rural and urban incomes has been widening because the rural areas appear to have missed the recent boom or President Ahmadinejad’s redistribution. According to survey data, in 2007, the gap between rural and urban per capita household expenditures reached its highest level, nearly 50 percent, up from 45 percent in 2004. During these three years, when urban families enjoyed (a modest) 3.5 percent annual growth, rural expenditures grew by zero percent! Why the rural economy has fallen behind or out of national favor is anybody’s guess, but here are a few leading explanations. (more…)
Tyranny of numbers 
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