Energy Subsidy Reform - Lessons and Implications
Author | : International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept. |
Publisher | : International Monetary Fund |
Total Pages | : 69 |
Release | : 2013-01-28 |
ISBN-13 | : 9781498342391 |
ISBN-10 | : 1498342396 |
Rating | : 4/5 (96 Downloads) |
Download or read book Energy Subsidy Reform - Lessons and Implications written by International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2013-01-28 with total page 69 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.