Lessons from the pandemic: an interrupted time series analysis of food and non-food household expenditures in Iran.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted household consumption worldwide. Evidence from middle-income countries remains limited. We examined changes in Iranian household expenditures before, during, and after the pandemic.

Methods

We used nationally representative Household Income and Expenditure Survey data (2014-2023; 381,302 households). Expenditures were CPI-deflated, and interrupted time series regression was applied to six major categories (food, housing, transport, health, education, and other) across three phases: pre-COVID (2014-2019), during COVID (2020-2021), and post-COVID (2022-2023). Budget shares and subgroup analyses (urban-rural) were also examined.

Results

Before the pandemic, most real expenditures were declining. At the onset of COVID-19, sharp c

SUBMITTER: Zakeri M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12595636 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature