Iran Protests: The Inflation Dimension
Once again, sharply rising food prices contribute to turmoil.
1. Food price inflation, which is always politically sensitive, amounted to nearly 14% in November 2017.
2. For some specific items, food prices even doubled over the year.
3. When President Hassan Rouhani launched his first successful presidential bid back in March 2013, one of the key items he campaigned on was curbing inflation.
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4. While headline inflation now is indeed way below the 35% level registered in March 2013, the uptick in inflation for key products has many Iranians fearful about sliding backward.
5. Iran’s population as a whole enjoys a more middle-class status than in decades past.
6. Real GDP per capita in 2000 was $7,466 and rose to $15,547 by 2014 – more than doubling.
7. The current per capita income is almost double the peak in the Shah’s era ($8,078 in 1976).
Sources: The Globalist Research Center, Trading Economics, Vox, University of Groningen Penn World Table, Al-Monitor
