Policy Papers

Energy Subsidy Reform - Lessons and Implications

January 28, 2013

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Energy Subsidy Reform - Lessons and Implications , (USA: International Monetary Fund, 0) accessed December 21, 2024

Also available in: العربية, français

Summary

Energy subsidies have wide-ranging economic consequences. While aimed at protecting consumers, subsidies aggravate fiscal imbalances, crowd-out priority public spending, and depress private investment, including in the energy sector. Subsidies also distort resource allocation by encouraging excessive energy consumption, artificially promoting capital-intensive industries, reducing incentives for investment in renewable energy, and accelerating the depletion of natural resources. Most subsidy benefits are captured by higher-income households, reinforcing inequality. Even future generations are affected through the damaging effects of increased energy consumption on global warming. This paper provides: (i) the most comprehensive estimates of energy subsidies currently available for 176 countries; and (ii) an analysis of ―how to do energy subsidy reform, drawing on insights from 22 country case studies undertaken by IMF staff and analyses carried out by other institutions.

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Subject: Energy sector, Energy taxes, Fiscal reforms, Subsidies

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