This paper examines the impact of a rise in the Value Added Tax (VAT) on poverty and inequality in Lebanon. It develops an empirical model based on consumer demand theory and uses only household survey data on expenditures and spatial price indexes.
This national survey provides a vital statistical database on the demographic and the educational status in Lebanon; the residential fact and the economic activity of the individuals; the health insurance, the migration, the family’s income and the aid received during the war