Household Survey Data Reveal Modest Gains in Iran’s Living Standards for 2024/2025
The recently released microdata from Iran’s Household Expenditures and Income Survey (HEIS) offers valuable insights into household economic conditions across the country during the Iranian year ending on 20 March 2025 (Iranian year 1403 or 2024 for short). This post updates my earlier post on Iranian living standards in 2023.
(more…)Iran’s Investment Puzzle: Diverging Data, Converging Concerns
In a recent post, I discussed the rising standard of living in recent years and questioned how that could persist while the share of investment in GDP has been falling. Not only has it been falling, but to levels that seem inadequate for maintaining the capital stock—and with it, the quality of essential services like electricity. This is clearly unsustainable. If investment drops below 10 to 15 percent of GDP, the country would essentially be consuming by running down its capital—much like a household that sustains itself by selling off its furniture.
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Tyranny of numbers 
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