Energy Subsidies And Public Social Spending

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Energy Subsidies and Public Social Spending

Author : Mr.Christian Ebeke
Publisher : International Monetary Fund
ISBN 13 : 1475516363
Total Pages : 30 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (755 download)

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Book Synopsis Energy Subsidies and Public Social Spending by : Mr.Christian Ebeke

Download or read book Energy Subsidies and Public Social Spending written by Mr.Christian Ebeke and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2015-05-06 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper shows that high energy subsidies and low public social spending can emerge as an equilibrium outcome of a political game between the elite and the middle-class when the provision of public goods is subject to bottlenecks, reflecting weak domestic institutions. We test this and other predictions of our model using a large cross-section of emerging markets and low-income countries. The main empirical challenge is that subsidies and social spending could be jointly determined (e.g., at the time of the budget), leading to a simultaneity bias in OLS estimates. To address this concern, we adopt an identification strategy whereby subsidies in a given country are instrumented by the level of subsidies in neighboring countries. Our Instrumental Variable (IV) estimations suggest that public expenditures in education and health were on average lower by 0.6 percentage point of GDP in countries where energy subsidies were 1 percentage point of GDP higher. Moreover, we find that the crowding-out was stronger in the presence of weak domestic institutions, narrow fiscal space, and among the net oil importers.

Energy Subsidies and Public Social Spending

Author : Christian Ebeke
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781475552232
Total Pages : 31 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (522 download)

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Book Synopsis Energy Subsidies and Public Social Spending by : Christian Ebeke

Download or read book Energy Subsidies and Public Social Spending written by Christian Ebeke and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 31 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper shows that high energy subsidies and low public social spending can emerge as an equilibrium outcome of a political game between the elite and the middle-class when the provision of public goods is subject to bottlenecks, reflecting weak domestic institutions. We test this and other predictions of our model using a large cross-section of emerging markets and low-income countries. The main empirical challenge is that subsidies and social spending could be jointly determined (e.g., at the time of the budget), leading to a simultaneity bias in OLS estimates. To address this concern, we.

Energy Subsidy Reform

Author : Mr.Benedict J. Clements
Publisher : International Monetary Fund
ISBN 13 : 1484339169
Total Pages : 390 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (843 download)

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Book Synopsis Energy Subsidy Reform by : Mr.Benedict J. Clements

Download or read book Energy Subsidy Reform written by Mr.Benedict J. Clements and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2013-09-13 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Energy subsidies are aimed at protecting consumers, however, subsidies aggravate fiscal imbalances, crowd out priority public spending, and depress private investment, including in the energy sector. This book provides the most comprehensive estimates of energy subsidies currently available for 176 countries and an analysis of “how to do” energy subsidy reform, drawing on insights from 22 country case studies undertaken by the IMF staff and analyses carried out by other institutions.

Energy Subsidy Reform - Lessons and Implications

Author : International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
Publisher : International Monetary Fund
ISBN 13 : 1498342396
Total Pages : 69 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (983 download)

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Book Synopsis Energy Subsidy Reform - Lessons and Implications by : International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.

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.

Energy Subsidies

Author : Anja von Moltke
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351283197
Total Pages : 296 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (512 download)

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Book Synopsis Energy Subsidies by : Anja von Moltke

Download or read book Energy Subsidies written by Anja von Moltke and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-08 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The need to reform energy subsidies was one of the pressing issues highlighted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Many types of subsidy, especially those that encourage the production and use of fossil fuel, and other non-renewable forms of energy, are harmful to the environment. They can also have high financial and economic costs, and often only bring few benefits to the people for whom they are intended.Removing, reducing or restructuring such energy subsidies is helpful for the environment and the economy at the same time. Potential social costs in terms of employment in the conventional energy industry or reduced access to energy could be addressed by redirecting the money formerly spent on subsidies to income support, health, environment, education or regional development programmes.Of course, subsidies can have certain positive consequences, particularly where they are aimed at encouraging more sustainable energy production and use. Temporary support for renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies to overcome market barriers, and measures to improve poor or rural households' access to modern, commercial forms of energy, for instance, could be positive measures in support of sustainable development.Based on ground-breaking work undertaken by UNEP and the International Energy Agency, this book aims to raise awareness of the actual and potential impacts of energy subsidies and provide guidance to policy-makers on how to design and implement energy-subsidy reforms. It provides methodologies for analysing the impact of subsidies and their reform, and reviews experiences with energy subsidies in a number of countries and regions. Drawing on these case studies, it analyses the lessons learned as well as the policy implications, and provides guidance on how to overcome resistance to reform.The book provides an analytical framework which aims to set the scene for the detailed discussion of energy-subsidy issues at the country level. It considers how subsidies are defined, how they can be measured, how big they are and how their effects can be assessed. A more detailed discussion of methodological approaches to the assessment of the economic, environmental and social effects of subsidies and their reform is contained in the Annex.Chapters 3–11 of the book contain country case studies from contributing authors, which review various experiences and issues related to energy subsidies in selected countries, but do not strive for a common approach. They are organised along geographical lines, beginning with a review of energy subsidies generally in OECD countries. Case studies of energy subsidies in transition economies – the Czech and Slovak Republics (Chapter 4) and Russia (Chapter 5) – follow. Three studies of Asian countries focus on the costs of different types of energy subsidy: electricity subsidies in India (Chapter 6), oil subsidies in Indonesia (Chapter 7) and energy subsidies generally in Korea (Chapter 8). Chapter 9 reviews the effect of energy subsidies in Iran and suggests a pragmatic approach to reforming them. This is followed by an assessment of the LPG subsidy programme in Senegal (Chapter 10) and an analysis of the effects of removing coal and oil subsides in Chile (Chapter 11).Chapter 12 analyses the lessons learned from these case studies, focusing on the economic, environmental and social effects and their implications for policy. Finally, Chapter 13 discusses the implications of these findings and makes practical recommendations for designing and implementing policy reforms.This book will be essential for both practitioners and academics involved in the energy sector and for governments and policy-makers wishing to examine the reform of energy subsidies.

Welfare for the Wealthy

Author : Christopher G. Faricy
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1316352455
Total Pages : 269 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (163 download)

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Book Synopsis Welfare for the Wealthy by : Christopher G. Faricy

Download or read book Welfare for the Wealthy written by Christopher G. Faricy and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-10-22 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How does political party control determine changes to social policy, and by extension, influence inequality in America? Conventional theories show that Democratic control of the federal government produces more social expenditures and less inequality. Welfare for the Wealthy re-examines this relationship by evaluating how political party power results in changes to both public social spending and subsidies for private welfare - and how a trade-off between the two, in turn, affects income inequality. Christopher Faricy finds that both Democrats and Republicans have increased social spending over the last forty-two years. And while both political parties increase federal social spending, Democrats and Republicans differ in how they spend federal money, which socioeconomic groups benefit, and the resulting consequences for income inequality.

Fiscal and Welfare Impacts of Electricity Subsidies in Central America

Author : Marco Antonio Hernández Oré
Publisher : World Bank Publications
ISBN 13 : 1464811059
Total Pages : 275 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (648 download)

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Book Synopsis Fiscal and Welfare Impacts of Electricity Subsidies in Central America by : Marco Antonio Hernández Oré

Download or read book Fiscal and Welfare Impacts of Electricity Subsidies in Central America written by Marco Antonio Hernández Oré and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2017-10-23 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Central American countries spend approximately one percent of their aggregate gross domestic product subsidizing residential electricity consumption. This amount is comparable with what these countries spend on education and social assistance. The pressure that electricity subsidies exert on government budgets is particularly high when international energy prices rise. Electricity subsidies also provide perverse incentives for the overconsumption of electricity as households do not pay the true cost of their consumption, which in turn reduces incentives to increase energy efficiency. This book answers key questions regarding residential electricity subsidies in Central America. In particular: How do the subsidy mechanisms function in each country? What are their fiscal costs? Are these subsidies good value for the money? How efficient are subsidies in reaching households in need, and what drives this efficiency? What are the reform options? The main message of this book is that there is considerable scope for improving the efficiency of electricity subsidies in Central America by better targeting them to low-income households. The book shows that electricity subsidies help reduce the burden of electricity costs on the lowest-income groups. However, the existing electricity subsidy schemes are very inefficient at targeting resources to low-income households, with the majority of government spending going to higher-income households. Indeed, most countries in the region have the opportunity to significantly reduce the fiscal costs of electricity subsidies without imposing significant costs on households, particularly poor households. Given the limited fiscal space in the region and the major needs of the countries in terms of social services and physical infrastructure, this study seeks to provide Central American policymakers with the analytical foundations necessary to assess the costs and benefits of their electricity subsidy mechanisms, and design effective reform strategies that reflect their unique circumstances and policy priorities.

Energy Subsidies: Lessons Learned in Assessing their Impact and Designing Policy Reforms

Author :
Publisher : UNEP/Earthprint
ISBN 13 : 9280722778
Total Pages : 184 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (87 download)

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Book Synopsis Energy Subsidies: Lessons Learned in Assessing their Impact and Designing Policy Reforms by :

Download or read book Energy Subsidies: Lessons Learned in Assessing their Impact and Designing Policy Reforms written by and published by UNEP/Earthprint. This book was released on 2003 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reforms

Author : Jun Rentschler
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351175815
Total Pages : 236 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (511 download)

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Book Synopsis Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reforms by : Jun Rentschler

Download or read book Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reforms written by Jun Rentschler and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-04-27 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Countries around the world are spending up to $500 billion per year on subsidising fossil fuel consumption. By some estimates, the G20 countries alone are spending around another $450 billion on subsidising fossil fuel production. In addition, the indirect social welfare costs of these subsidies have been shown to be substantial – for instance due to air pollution, road congestion, climate change, and economic inefficiency, to name a few. Considering these numbers, there is no doubt that fossil fuel subsidies cause severe economic distortions that compromise countries’ prospects of achieving equitable and sustainable development. This book provides a guide to the complex challenge of designing, assessing, and implementing effective fossil fuel subsidy reforms. It shows that subsidy reform requires a careful balancing of complex economic and political trade-offs, as well as measures to mitigate adverse effects on vulnerable households and to assist firms with implementing efficiency enhancing measures. Going beyond the purely fiscal perspective, this book emphasises that smart subsidy reforms can contribute to all three dimensions of sustainable development – environment, society, and economy. Over the course of eight chapters, this book considers a wide range of agents and stakeholders, markets, and policy measures in order to distil the key principles of designing effective fossil fuel subsidy reforms. This book will be of great relevance to scholars and policy makers with an interest in energy economics and policy, climate change policy, and sustainable development more broadly.

Subsidy Reform in the Middle East and North Africa

Author : Mr.Carlo A Sdralevich
Publisher : International Monetary Fund
ISBN 13 : 1498350437
Total Pages : 130 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (983 download)

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Book Synopsis Subsidy Reform in the Middle East and North Africa by : Mr.Carlo A Sdralevich

Download or read book Subsidy Reform in the Middle East and North Africa written by Mr.Carlo A Sdralevich and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2014-07-09 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries price subsidies are common, especially on food and fuels. However, these are neither well targeted nor cost effective as a social protection tool, often benefiting mainly the better off instead of the poor and vulnerable. This paper explores the challenges of replacing generalized price subsidies with more equitable social safety net instruments, including the short-term inflationary effects, and describes the features of successful subsidy reforms.

The Economics and Political Economy of Energy Subsidies

Author : Jon Strand
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262337495
Total Pages : 291 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (623 download)

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Book Synopsis The Economics and Political Economy of Energy Subsidies by : Jon Strand

Download or read book The Economics and Political Economy of Energy Subsidies written by Jon Strand and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2016-07-29 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The economic and political aspects of energy subsidies, viewed both theoretically and empirically, with a focus on fossil fuel subsidies in developing nations. Government subsidies to energy are widespread and represent a heavy burden on public budgets in many countries. Both producers and consumers may be subsidized; the most common subsidies are for motor fuel consumption and electricity production and consumption. The subsidies to consumers often prove particularly harmful because they result in increased energy consumption, increased carbon emissions, and distortionary effects on consumer behavior. This book fills a void in the literature by providing a first, broad and diverse, analysis of several aspects of the economic and political economy aspects of government energy subsidies. The contributors take both theoretical and empirical approaches, with most of the focus on subsidies to fuel and electricity in non-OECD countries. The chapters cover such topics as energy pricing, reelection incentives for politicians that may encourage excessive subsidies; political corruption and “bribing equilibria,” the the “resource curse” in developing countries when the gains from natural resource windfalls are largely wasted, the “entitlement” of energy subsidies in autocracies, and distributional issues when subsidies targeted to the poor are removed in high-income countries. One chapter discusses nonharmful subsidies: the potential economic effects of subsidizing the manufacturing and deployment of renewable energy. Contributors Carolyn Fischer, Mads Greaker, Mohammad Habibpour, Michelle Harding, Christina Kolerus, Christos Kotsogiannis, Jim Krane, Alber Touna Mama, Raffaele Miniaci, Marco Pani, Ian Parry, Carlo Perroni, Leonzio Rizzo, Knut Einar Rosendahl, Carlo Scarpa, Neda Seiban, Suphi Sen, Jon Strand, Paola Valbonesi, Herman Vollebergh

Efficiency and Equity in Social Spending

Author : Nancy Birdsall
Publisher : World Bank Publications
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 48 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (318 download)

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Book Synopsis Efficiency and Equity in Social Spending by : Nancy Birdsall

Download or read book Efficiency and Equity in Social Spending written by Nancy Birdsall and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1990 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In most countries it is easy to identify reallocations of public spending for social programs that would improve efficiency and simultaneously improve the distribution of income and better serve the poor. The authors suggest why these reallocations are difficult but not impossible to bring about.

Toward More Efficient and Effective Public Social Spending in Central America

Author : Pablo Acosta
Publisher : World Bank Publications
ISBN 13 : 1464810613
Total Pages : 175 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (648 download)

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Book Synopsis Toward More Efficient and Effective Public Social Spending in Central America by : Pablo Acosta

Download or read book Toward More Efficient and Effective Public Social Spending in Central America written by Pablo Acosta and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2017-06-06 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Central America has come a long way both in terms of economic and political stability. Increasingly the region is focusing on implementing productivity-enhancing reforms as well as supporting reductions in poverty and inequality. This report analyzes recent trends in public social spending in Central America from 2007 to 2014, conducts international benchmarking, examines measures of the effectiveness and efficiency of social spending, and discusses the quality of selected institutions influencing this spending. We examine total social spending, as well as detailing its four components: public spending on the education, health, and social protection and labor (SPL) sectors. In analyzing public social spending, the report addresses three crucial policy issues: (a) how to improve the coverage and redistributional incidence of public social spending; (b) how to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of public social spending; and (c) how to strengthen the institutions governing public spending in the social sector. While based heavily on a series of recent analytical social spending studies in six countries in the subregion—Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama—this report also takes a broader regional perspective and includes some comparisons to countries in other regions.

Can Government Transfers Make Energy Subsidy Reform Socially Acceptable?

Author : Filip Schaffitzel
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (115 download)

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Book Synopsis Can Government Transfers Make Energy Subsidy Reform Socially Acceptable? by : Filip Schaffitzel

Download or read book Can Government Transfers Make Energy Subsidy Reform Socially Acceptable? written by Filip Schaffitzel and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Energy subsidies account for about 7% of Ecuador's yearly public spending, or two thirds of the fiscal deficit. Removing these subsidies would yield clear economic and environmental benefits and help implement climate targets set in the Paris Agreement. However, expected adverse effects on vulnerable households can make reforms politically difficult. To inform policy design, we use household survey data from Ecuador in combination with augmented input-output data to assess the distributional impacts of energy subsidy reform. We find that in absolute terms energy subsidies benefit richer households more than poor ones. Relative to household income, subsidy removal without compensation would be regressive for diesel and LPG, progressive for gasoline, and approximately neutral for electricity. We then analyze how a fraction of financial resources freed up by subsidy reform could be used to mitigate income losses for poor households by means of in-kind and in-cash revenue recycling schemes. Our results indicate that removing all energy subsidies and increasing the existing social protection program, Bono de Desarrollo Humano, by nearly US$ 50 per month would confer net benefits of almost 10% of their current income to the poorest quintile. In addition, more than 1.3 billion US$ would still be available for the public budget after the reform. Finally, we conduct expert interviews to evaluate the political and institutional challenges related to energy subsidy reform. We identify two combinations of reform options and recycling schemes that would benefit the poorest 40% of households and are deemed to be feasible: eliminating subsidies on gasoline while increasing the amount transferred to vulnerable households through the Bono de Desarrollo Humano and replacing universal LPG subsidies with targeted LPG vouchers.

Energy Subsidy Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author : Mr.Trevor Serge Coleridge Alleyne
Publisher : International Monetary Fund
ISBN 13 : 1484366549
Total Pages : 125 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (843 download)

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Book Synopsis Energy Subsidy Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa by : Mr.Trevor Serge Coleridge Alleyne

Download or read book Energy Subsidy Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa written by Mr.Trevor Serge Coleridge Alleyne and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2013-08-12 with total page 125 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The reform of energy subsidies is an important but challenging issue for sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. There is a relatively large theoretical and empirical literature on this issue. While this paper relies on that literature, too, it tailors its discussion to SSA countries to respond to the following questions: Why it is important to reduce energy subsidies? What are the difficulties involved in energy subsidy reform? How best can a subsidy reform be implemented? This paper uses various sources of information on SSA countries: quantitative assessments, surveys, and individual (but standardized) case studies.

Do Policies for Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Subsidies Deliver what They Promise?

Author : Eirik S. Lindebjerg
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (951 download)

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Book Synopsis Do Policies for Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Subsidies Deliver what They Promise? by : Eirik S. Lindebjerg

Download or read book Do Policies for Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Subsidies Deliver what They Promise? written by Eirik S. Lindebjerg and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fossil fuel subsidies reform has been intensively debated and promoted as a concrete step towards sustainable development, with anticipated benefits of reduced carbon emissions, saved public spending, and improved social distribution. But does this "triple-win" policy deliver what it promises? This working paper focuses on the social "win"--The narrative of social and distributional gains of the energy subsidies reform. The research follows a comparative analysis approach. Three countries were selected as target for in-depth case studies based on their diverse political, economic and social contexts: Ghana, Indonesia and Iran. We examine in each case the distributional effects of subsidy removal, the design and implementation of social programmes and their impact on welfare, as well as the political economy around sustainability of the reform. Based on comparative studies across the three cases, a set of political, economic and social factors are identified to have key impact on the social outcome of reforms. The key conclusions are as follows. There is no quick fix for social "win". Instead, the social outcome is influenced by a set of political, economic and social factors at different levels. Governments need to put the energy subsidies reform in the bigger context and manage the complex mix of influencing factors, to anchor the policy on a broad coalition of interests. Long-term political commitment to subsidies reform is key. A clearly communicated commitment would help win trust from the public in energy subsidies reforms and support for the government to implement relevant policies. A long-term and gradual reform strategy which takes into account both immediate cushion and long-term distributional effects is essential to achieving social gains. Social gain needs to have a prominent role in energy subsidy reforms. The three case studies indicate a clear dynamic between social gains and subsidy reform processes. Thorough analysis using a social lens approach can identify important factors to be taken into account for reform policies to be sustained and more importantly, deliver a social win. Rather than to be taken as a given, a social win from fossil fuel subsidy reforms requires the social dimension to be a central part of the reform policy.

Public Expenditure Review Summary

Author : Weltbank
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (125 download)

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Book Synopsis Public Expenditure Review Summary by : Weltbank

Download or read book Public Expenditure Review Summary written by Weltbank and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Public expenditure on household-based social assistance (SA) in Indonesia has increased significantly since 2005. From a low base in the early 2000s, Indonesia's aggregate national public expenditures on SA permanently increased from 2005 after the central government allocated a portion of the savings from fuel subsidy reforms to a number of SA initiatives. In 2010, national expenditures on SA are estimated at Rp 29,709 billion (US$ 3.3 billion), equivalent to 2.6 percent of total national expenditures and 0.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Indonesia's strong fiscal position leaves Indonesia well placed to further increase SA expenditures. Declining debt payments and subsidy reductions have opened up fiscal space over the past decade and supported a general increase in social sector and SA spending. With debt-to-GDP of just 25 percent in 2010, Indonesia could further increase expenditure on both items without raising debt levels. Nonetheless, current expenditures on SA are dwarfed by spending on regressive energy subsidies which in some years consume over 20 percent of total national expenditures. The increase in spending after 2005 primarily reflects greater central government investment in programs to protect poor households from fuel and food shocks as well as large health and education expenses. The central government is the dominant player in the SA sector, accounting for almost 90 percent of total expenditures. In years when the government has increased regulated fuel prices (2005-06 and 2008-09), the largest compensatory SA response has been an unconditional cash transfer program (BLT) to vulnerable households to help cushion them from the inflationary shock.