Food Prices Surge in a Year Marked by War on Iran
Last week, the Statistical Center of Iran published its inflation report for Esfand (ending March 20), the final month of the Iranian year 1404. Despite the record-high inflation reported for the year, its most noteworthy fact is its release amid heavy bombing by the United States and Israel. It is a reminder of the resilience of the Iranian spirit—not only on the battlefield, but also in maintaining the state’s core functions on schedule. Perhaps more damaging than the destruction of the country’s physical capital is the erosion of its institutions, of which the production of accurate statistics—even when politically inconvenient—is essential and far harder to rebuild.
(more…)Delay and discrepancy in Iran’s inflation data
For the past several years, on the first day of each month the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI) has published the inflation report for the previous month. But, this month, the report for the first Iranian month of the new Iranian year 1402 (Esfand, which ended on 20 March 2023) is yet to be posted. The official explanation is that SCI is in the process of changing the base year for the CPI from 1395 (2016) to 1400 (2021). Five-year updates are normal and necessary because the expenditure weights used to calculate the CPI change over time. Presumably they are being recalculated using the household budget survey for 1400, which was concluded a year ago. Has there not been enough time to estimate the new weights?
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Tyranny of numbers 
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