Determination of main factors and assessment of socio-economic indices: An Iran case study

The study and comparison of areas and systems, such as comparative reviews of provinces from economic and social aspects, can be beneficial for planners in decision making and implementation of appropriate programs to reduce regional disparities. Recently, many efforts have been made to improve socioeconomic indices. Therefore researchers use compound socioeconomic indices rather than a single index.

The purpose of this study was to assess the socioeconomic status of Iranian provinces from education, income, housing, occupation and employment dimensions. Therefore, socioeconomic indices (SEIFA discussed below) have been calculated for all the provinces in the Iranian 2011 census using a principal component analysis. The results indicate that Tehran is the most advantageous province with respect to all socio-economic indices. Sistani is the most disadvantaged province in respect to the Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage and Index of Relative Socio-Economic Advantage and Disadvantage. The most disadvantaged province for the Index of Economic Resources is Bakhtiari. Kurdistan is considered the most disadvantaged province for the Index of Education and Occupation.

The Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) have been introduced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). SEIFA classifies areas in terms of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage, and the indices are created based on census. The indices are:

1. Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSD)
2. Index of Relative Socio-Economic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD)
3. Index of Education and Occupation (IEO)
4. Index of Economic Resources (IER)

Key issues and significant characteristics of the indices are:

1. The indices are area-specific, and do not apply at the individual level. They reflect a common socio-economic status of the people who live in an area, as well as are a kind of ordinal measure that ranks areas.
2. The indices are related to all variables selected for analysis. Variable groups, such as educational levels, are chosen based on the author's perception of the concept of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage, and available data from the census.
3. SEIFA considers disadvantage as a multidimensional concept. The concept of disadvantage in an area and at the individual level are separate, although conceptually are dependent on each other. Disadvantage in an area depends on the socio-economic status of society and is essentially related to the characteristics of the residents of the area. It is also about the features of the area itself.

The results illustrate where the Iranian goverment can best use regional planning and budget allocation to eradicate or lessen regional inequalities.