Poverty Dynamics in Iran (in Persian)

Understanding the distribution of poverty within society—whether chronic or transient—is crucial for designing and implementing effective poverty reduction policies. This paper uses seven panels of data spanning different periods from the 1990s to the 2020s to estimate chronic poverty trends in Iran, applying two methods: the components method and the equally distributed equivalent (EDE) poverty gap method. The components method reveals a lower proportion of chronic poverty compared to the EDE approach, which estimates this figure at an average of 88%. Over time, chronic poverty trends have paralleled broader macroeconomic conditions, declining from the 1990s through the early 2010s, stabilizing briefly, and then increasing again by the late 2010s. The EDE poverty gap method also distinguishes chronic poverty into two parts: the average poverty gap and an inequality component. The findings suggest that changes in chronic poverty are primarily driven by fluctuations in the average poverty gap, with inter-individual inequality playing a less prominent role, despite consistently comprising a larger share of chronic poverty.