Social Protection and Gender in Iran: Assessing the Differential Impact of Social Protection Activities on Female-Headed versus Male-Headed Households

The aim of this project is to assess the differential impact of social protection services on household expenditure in Iran with respect to the gender of the head of household. The issue is important since poverty rates tend to be much higher among female-headed households; also, the gains from social protection might be diminished significantly if the rules and policies governing the provision of social protection tilt the benefits towards male-headed households. The research relies on quantile regressions of household expenditure distributions in Iran’s provinces on indicators of social protection activity, controlling for household and province characteristics and other relevant and observable factors. The main sources of data are the annual Household Expenditure and Income Surveys (HEIS) and Iran’s Statistical Yearbook produced by the Statistical Center of Iran and during 1991-2013.