The efficient use of electricity in the household sector to ensure maximum welfare of households and supply of electricity required by industry as an engine of economic growth is the important goal of countries. Therefore, reducing the inefficiency of energy consumption by households is of high importance. The present study uses statistical evidence of expenditure-income of Iranian households for the period 2010–2021 to estimate the share of energy inefficiency in the households’ energy consumption differences. The results of Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition show that the share of inefficiency in creating a gap in the share of household electricity costs has decreased from 87. 2% in 2010 to 76. 5% in 2021. The results of Machado-Mata decomposition show that in the upper quantiles of the share of electricity consumption, the share of the difference in the socio-economic characteristics of households is more than that of the lower quantiles and this share has increased in 2021 as compared to 2010. Therefore, the role of household consumption pattern is more than the rate of access to high-energy appliances, so providing a step-by-step pricing system with an exponential rate for electricity consumption is an effective policy to reduce inefficiency in electricity consumption. Furthermore, quantile regression estimation shows that household income and size have a negative effect, and ownership and size of housing and access to household appliances have a positive significant effect on the share of household electricity costs.

This paper, by using household micro-level data over 2010-2014 and utilizing the generalized Logit model and Oaxaca-blinder and Machado-Mata decomposition, investigates the factor affecting educational demands and determining the share of education in income inequality. The results show that increase the parents’ years of educational and decrease in number of children lead to increase the educational demand. The results of decomposition models, also, indicate the share of education in income inequality at the bottom deciles of income is 0.6 and at the top deciles is 2.5 percent. Averagely, the share of education in income inequality in 2010 was equal to 1.46 and in 2014 to 3.26 percent. To increase the efficiency of education in the country, the policies such as creation increase the relationship between university and industry, quality of education and increase investment in sectors whit higher forward and backward linkage is advised.

This study examins effects of trade liberalization on the wage inequality across industries and between genders within these industries by utilizing the data of micro-level Households’ Income and Expenditures surveys and trade statistics over 2001-2011. The analysis is carried based on the Heckscher–Ohlin’s theory in international trade and Baker’s taste discrimination theory at firms. We use Quantile regression and ordinary least squares (OLS) to consider the wage discrimination across entire distribution wage distribution and at wages mean as well. The results of Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition approach (inequality at mean wage) and Machado and Mata’s model (inequality of wage at entire distribution) indicate that over the aforementioned period wage gap has decreased. The wage gap in terms of Blinder-Oaxaca and Machado-Mata decomposition models, for sectors with positive and zero tariffs, show that wage difference have experienced considerable reductions over the period of post tariff reduction for between genders and industries.

From the perspective of Islamic basic, welfare inequality is only acceptable when it is not due to discrimination and considered the share of poor people in rich wealth. but in the conventional economy, effective inequality is only due to the difference in human capital. The study by using the micro-level Households’ Income and Expenditures surveys data from Statistics center of Iran over 2005 to 2014 and applying Machado-Mata and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition measures welfare inequality according Islamic and conventional Economics. The results of the study shows more than 90 percent of the welfare inequality between the top and bottom deciles of income distribution in both Islamic and conventional economic is efficient. But the share of poor people of rich income is considerable, so that in 2008 has highest share and over 2010-2014 has been increased. In general, because of the attention of the rich to the poor in Islamic economics, effective inequality in Islamic economics is less than conventional economics. Therefore implementation of the principles of Islamic economics can provide a basis for reducing inequality.

This study by utilizing the data of micro-level statistics on households’ income and expenditure survey over 2005-2014 investigates the determinant of urban-rural welfare inequality in Iran’s household. One of the factors affecting the welfare gap (consumption) is income gap. For this study, we uses of Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition approach (inequality at mean consumption) and Machado-Mata decomposition (inequality of consumption at entire distribution). The result of Blinder-Oaxaca and Machado-Mata indicates that welfare gap has more decreased in 2014 than 2005 and also efficient gap has decreased because the human capital in rural area has increased. But, the comparison of Islamic economics and conventional economics shows that in Islamic economics, the discrimination is in favor of rural labor while in conventional economics the discrimination is in favor of urban labor. The efficient gap in Islamic economics is less than or equal to conventional economics. The main causes of efficient inequality are differences in the education of household heads and their income and family size of urban and rural households.

Dear Editor, I read with great interest the article by Ghelichkhani et al1 regarding cigarette and hookah inequality in Iran. The authors used the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method to determine the associated factors with inequality. As a researcher who first introduced this method in Iran. 2-10 I noticed some critiques in using this method as listed below. . . .

Background: The current study aimed to determine eye care utilization, to assess the role of economic inequality in the utilization of eye care services, and to identify its determinants in Shahroud, North of Iran.Methods: Of the 6,311 invited people, 5,190 (82.24%) individuals aged 40 to 64 years old participated in the study. A history of a visit by an ophthalmologist or optometrist was considered as eye care utilization. The gap between low- and high-economic groups was decomposed into its determinants using the Oaxaca decomposition method.Results: Among the participants, 16.32% [95% Confidence Intervals (CI) = 15.31–17.33%] had never been examined by an ophthalmologist or optometrist, and 30.94% (95% CI= 29.69–32.20%) had not undergone an eye examination in the past 5 years. This negative history was significantly higher among female subjects [Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.79, 95% CI= 1.51–2.14], the low-economic group (OR= 2.33, 95% CI= 1.90–2.87), the visually impaired (OR= 1.41, 95% CI= 1.05–1.90), and the uninsured (OR= 1.93, 95% CI= 1.45–2.58). The negative history of eye examination decreased with increasing in age (OR= 0.94, 95% CI= 0.93–0.96) and education (OR= 0.94, 95% CI= 0.92–0.96). In this study, 24.72% (95% CI= 22.30–27.14) of the low-economic group and 9.94% (95% CI= 8.75–11.14) of the high-economic group had no history of eye examination. Decomposition of the gap between the two economic groups showed that education and gender were the most important determinants of inequality.Conclusion: A considerable percentage of adults, even those with visual impairment, do not receive appropriate eye care. There is a definite economic inequality in the community for which poverty per se could be the major cause.

Income inequality is sometimes appeared as the gap between two gender groups. Adequate observations relevant to this type of income inequality have tempted economists to find the causes of this phenomenon and measure its width. The isolation of discrimination from that part of income gap which is explained by productivity of men and women is on the focus. Identifying the portion of discrimination (unexplained) and explained earning gender gap by using Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition procedure on the basis of two samples in Tehran is the main goal of this paper. The data have been gathered by questionnaire in 2012. Findings suggest that approximately 41% of the earning gap of sexes is attributed to the difference in human capital and another 59% is related to discrimination. Additionally, work experience is the dominant cause of gender earning gap.

Wage differences between two groups can be explained by two factors, difference in human capital and occupational and activity status that observable, and another factor related to discrimination, discrimination is difference in return for equal characteristic, in fact discrimination cannot be explained by differences in characteristics such as education, experience. If the difference in wages was due to human capital difference, because each of the factors of production are paid based on the value of their marginal product. Such as wage gap is efficient and imply on optimal resource allocation. But if wage gap was due to discrimination, wage gap is inefficient. In recent years, one of the most problems in Iran migration of rural people to urban area. One of the reasons for this phenomenon is regional wage gap. The evidence of gathering data from statistical center of Iran show that wage inequality between rural-urban regional is high in 2006 and has decreased in 2014. therefore the goal of this study, the estimation of the share of inefficient wage inequality between rural-urban in Iran by using the data from Households’ Income and Expenditures surveys over 2006-2014 and applying Oaxaca-Blinder (inequality of wage at mean) and Machado-Mata (inequality of wage at entire distribution) decomposition models. Theoretical framework For decomposition wage inequality between rural-urban regional we use of Baker’s taste discrimination theory (1957). Becker (1957) introduces the concept of discrimination on the labor market; employers maximize the utility function and have disutility from employing the some group. Equation (1) shows that wage difference can be decompose to two part, first term on the right hand side of equation (1) indicating regional wage gap due to productivity difference and second term due to discrimination. (1) When the first term has dominant effect, the share of efficient wage gap is high and when the size of second term is high, possibility of inefficient allocation resource has increased. Methodology To increasing the concordance between goal of study and theoretical framework we use the decomposition model that suggested by Blinder-Oaxaca (1973) and Machado-Mata (2005). R in equation 2 is wage gap, x is characteristics component such as experience, education, gender, job and activity statues, β is estimated coefficient of characteristics of labor. The first term on the right hand of equation 2 equal to amounts to the part that is due to differences in characteristics between urban and rural (explained part of the differential), second term is the contribution of differences in coefficients (discrimination component or unexplained part of the differential). Result and discussion The result of study show that total wage gap (difference the logarithm of wage), has decreased from 0.41 in 2006 to 0.28 in 2014, also the efficient wage gap has decreased from 0.299 in 2008 to 0.117 in 2014, and inefficient wage gap has decreased from 0.234 in 2006 to 0.0484 in 2012 and then increased to 0.166 in 2014. But the share of inefficient wage over 2006-2014 was about 37 percent. the result of Machado-Mata decomposition show wage gap in all centile decreased and role of decreasing discrimination in lower centile more than efficient wage gap and in upper centile the role of decreasing efficient wage gap is dominant. Also increasing the migration of rural to urban and increasing competition for finding a job in urban area lead to increasing efficient wage gap in bottom centile in 2014 than 2006. in fact the result show that high wage earner necessary doesn’t have high level of human capital.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of inequalities in sociodemographic factors in some mental disorders (MDs) has been shown in previous reports. The aim of this study was to assess the main contributors that affected prevalence of inequalities in MDs between groups. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study that was conducted on adults in 10 cities from Ilam province. We selected participants using cluster sampling,clusters were cities (n1 = 10), geographical area (n2 = 153), and households (n3 = 382). Screening tools and clinical interview were applied through standardized and validated questionnaires, namely, GHQ-28 and DSM-IV-TR, respectively. Participants were divided into socioeconomic groups via principal composition analysis (PCA). Blinder–Oaxaca approach was applied to distinguish the gap in inequalities between groups. RESULTS: The prevalence of MDs in the advantage group was 22. 6% and, in disadvantages was 35. 6%. The concentration index (CI) of the MD prevalence rate was −0. 013 (95% CI: −0. 022, −0. 004) which indicated that MDs were more common in the disadvantaged groups. The odds of MDs in advantaged people was 81% more compared to the disadvantaged group (OR: 1. 81,95% CI: 1. 28, 2. 57), also in females compared to males (1. 60,95% CI: 1. 21, 2. 24). Analysis of gap inequality between groups showed that the gap in prevalence rates of MDs between groups was 12%. CONCLUSION: This study revealed a socioeconomic inequality in MD rates in the adult population. Therefore, results of this study provide contributors in MDs inequality in order to control and reduce the prevalence of MDs in the community.