Accuracy: Poor households are the major victims of inflation – Higher related costs for feeding, housing and communication

The poor are its major victims as they pay significantly higher relative costs for feeding, housing and communication, compared with the rich. In a study by the Centre for Planning and Economic Research (KEPE), it is also noted that the coverage of these costs, feeding, housing and communication requires poor households over half their income, while for the rich only a third is required, thus turning the poor into the most vulnerable to the accuracy of basic goods. In particular, covering these needs amounts to more than half of the costs of the poor (50.5%) compared to less than 1/3 of the rich (27.7%). In particular, the excess expenditure on food is due to flour (bread, cereals, flour, etc.), meat, dairy and vegetables. Accordingly, the excess relative expenditure of the poorest for housing is mainly due to lighting and heating costs and increased related rent costs. Finally, the excess costs for communications are due to mobile services. On the other hand, the JEP emphasises that wealthy households are gearing more of their costs to travel, leisure, hotel-brown-restaurant costs and other costs (including personal toileting costs, the purchase of jewellery, as well as third-party insurance and services to the household). As noted, the total expenditure above corresponds to 45% of the expenditure of the rich compared with 26.3% of the poor. In particular, the excess relative cost of the rich for transport is due to the transport market, the excess relative cost for leisure is due to the costs of large leisure instruments and musical instruments, while the excess relative cost for other goods and services is due to insurance (health, travel, etc.). According to the JEP study, changes in the consumer price index (IMF) of the individual income categories follow the corresponding of the General Index. In other words, since mid-2021 there has been a significant increase, resulting in an average price level increased by 14.7% over 2020. The price increases experienced by individual household income groups are similar. In particular, in 2020–2023 the poorest 20% of households faced a cumulative increase of 15.6%, the richest 20% of households faced an increase of 13.7%, while the richest 10% of households faced a cumulative price increase of 13.1%. In addition, inflationary pressures of 2021–2022 shaped for poorer households an IDC that moves steadily above the average, as opposed to the IDC of the richest who move steadily below the average. Even worse, it seems that the inflationary shock of 2021-2022 reversed a “long-term” trend that characterizes the years from 2015 to 2020, in which the ICC of poorer households was marginally lower than both the general average and the richest households. Therefore, in addition to the negative impact already achieved, the temporal persistent nature of the phenomenon creates the risk of consolidating this situation.