Recent Trends in Consumption Inequality in Türkiye

<p style="margin-bottom: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;">Historically, income and wealth inequality have attracted considerable attention within academic discussions, particularly as they reflect broader socio-economic disparities and are facilitated by the availability of comprehensive data. In contrast, the evidence pertaining to consumption inequality remains relatively scarce, primarily due to the challenges posed by the availability of high-quality data for researchers. This study offers empirical evidence concerning the trends of consumption inequality in Türkiye from 2003 to 2022. The analysis employs multiple inequality indicators and various definitions of consumption to assess inequality. The findings reveal a notable reduction in consumption inequality in Türkiye during the early 2000s. However, a resurgence of inequality is observed following the economic downturns after the 2008 crisis and the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic. The rise in consumption inequality post-2019 is not paralleled by similar trends in income. Furthermore, an examination of the contributing factors to inequality indicates that the substantial increase in automobile prices has a significant impact on inequality levels in 2022. Analyzing subgroups, the recent rise in consumption inequality can be attributed to an increase in inequality within education groups. Moreover, the contribution to inequality among individuals with college degrees has experienced a significant rise throughout the period.