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This study evaluated the impact of fuel subsidy removal on family income and sustainability in Ondo City. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. Three (3) research questions guided the study. The study population was comprised of all household members in Ondo Metropolis. The total population of the study is two hundred and fifty-three thousand, four hundred and sixty-two (253,462). The sample size was one hundred and eighty-five (185) and was randomly selected using a simple random technique. A structured questionnaire was the research instrument used to elicit responses from the respondents. Split-half reliability was used to determine the instrument's consistency, and a correlation coefficient of 0.76 was obtained. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that the fluctuation of oil prices in the international market necessitated subsidy removal, and the higher cost of transportation increases the cost of food items. The study concluded that the factors that necessitate fuel subsidy removal have a significant relationship with the possible challenges encountered by households in family sustenance. It was therefore recommended that the government's actions, such as increasing civil servants' wages and providing incentives for business owners, could enable them to cope with the increasing prices of commodities, offering a hopeful outlook for the future.

This paper draws from qualitative data to examine the opacity of Nigeria's downstream oil sector within the ambit of its fuel subsidy policy. It specifically addresses whether the poor state of Nigeria's refineries is linked to the prebendal benefits associated with the administration of fuel subsidies as well as the correlation between the opacity of Nigeria's downstream oil sector and fuel subsidy. Furthermore, the paper interrogates how fuel importation could be considered a rational option to address domestic needs for refined petroleum products. The paper offers two major interrelated insights: First, it finds that fuel subsidy nurtures the propensity for sabotage, corruption, and money laundering; there tends to be a link between fuel subsidy and the non-functionality of Nigeria's state-owned refineries, and second, the pro-poor justifications for sustaining fuel subsidy is a proxy for continued elite enrichment through the manipulation of the subsidy regime. Overall, the paper highlights the imperative of rethinking the fuel subsidy architecture by rebuilding Nigeria's downstream oil sector, especially the domestic capacity for refining crude oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the major environmental impact of fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria would be the increased transportation costs, decreased demand and supply for fuels which will reduce carbon emission in Nigeria with a direct impact on fertilizer supply to agricultural production which in-turn will reduce the excess use of fertilizers leading to the production of high quality agricultural products that could earn foreign exchange for the country. Hence, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the viewpoints of bioresources conservationist on the impact of fuel subsidy removal policy on Nigerian environment using appropriate standard techniques to source data and information from Online and library sources. The findings revealed that majority of Nigerians have reverted to environment to source for immediate needs, to balance off high cost of agricultural goods and other necessities of man due to transportation costs from subsidy. The removal has brought great deal in environmental activities with severe impact on the flora and fauna, which would eventually lead to depletion, degradation, loss of species, unsupportive environmental benefits, frequency of harvest without replacement, increase number of people depending on environment. In conclusion, any policy now or future should consider the positive and negative impact on the natural economy, citizen and prepare short and long term amelioration program before pronouncement to reduce over harvest of environment

Fuel subsidies play a vital role in mitigating inflation and lowering fuel production expenses, particularly during periods of surging global crude oil prices. The study's objectives involve a comprehensive assessment, mapping research studies to understand current trends, publication impact, research productivity in fuel subsidy studies, and identifying the most influential countries, institutions, and authors in this field. This research conducts a bibliometric analysis of fuel subsidies and their trends, utilizing data and academic literature from the Scopus database retrieved on October 4, 2022, with the keywords "fuel" and "subsidy" in the title string. Examining 168 articles spanning 1978 to 2022, quantitative data analysis employed Microsoft Excel, VOSviewer, and Harzing’s Publish or Perish. Results reveal a rising trend in article publication since 2014, peaking at 23 articles in 2017. The United States (USA), the United Kingdom (UK), and China emerge as the most productive countries in fuel subsidy studies, with the USA playing a crucial role in international collaboration. The most cited paper garnered 164 citations. Future research is encouraged to explore broader areas, linking fuel subsidies with low carbon societies, environmental policy, renewable energy, or the blue economy, given their global significance. The study's findings aim to guide researchers in planning future investigations, offering relevant literature and critical issues to address, ultimately enhancing the quality of knowledge in this domain.

Why do some governments subsidize gasoline consumption, despite its very high economic and environmental costs? We answer this question by examining how a state's political regime and level of institutional capacity jointly determine its level of fossil fuel price distortion. We find that, without sufficient institutional capacity, democratic regimes do not necessarily provide less fuel subsidies, as those governments are unable to pursue other more efficient welfare policies. Using data on monthly domestic gasoline prices from 2003 to 2015, we demonstrate that democratic governments with high institutional capacity are less likely to control domestic gasoline prices. Democratic institutions and strong institutional capacity jointly mitigate the effect of the benchmark oil price increases on the domestic price. These results suggest that the combination of motive (democratic accountability) and means (institutional capacity) can help countries avoid inefficient subsidy policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the impact of fuel subsidy on government expenditure in Nigeria. Fuel subsidy have long been a contentious issue, as they strain government budgets and have implications for fiscal sustainability. Through an empirical analysis, this study explored the relationship between fuel subsidy and government expenditure, shedding light on the potential consequences for economic development and public finances. An Autoregressive Distributed Lag approach (ARDL) which allows for both short-run and long-run dynamics to be captured the effect were used with inference at 5% significant level. The study findings shows that changes in fuel subsidy do not appear to have a significant impact on government expenditure, both in the short run and the long run. This implies that alterations in fuel subsidy policies may not directly affect the government spending. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders involved in government budgeting and resource allocation in Nigeria. It suggest that efforts to increase government expenditure should consider the potential positive impact of oil revenue, premium motor spirit consumption. Policymakers may also consider the stability and reliability of these revenue sources when planning and prioritizing government spending. Based on the finding, the study recommended since oil revenue has a positive and significant impact on government expenditure, it is recommended that the Nigerian government focuses on diversifying its revenue sources. This can reduce the dependence on oil revenue and provide a more stable and sustainable funding base for valuable sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply-side fiscal policy holds that the growth of the country is stimulated through fiscal expansion designed to foster increased production. Subsidies given by the government to producers save many essential industries from higher cost of production thus encouraging them to increase supply of goods and services. On the other hand, subsidies provided to the public have benefitted them from paying higher prices for consumer products thus enhancing their welfare. However, these subsidies and incentives may promote overproduction and encourage overconsumption since cost of production becomes much cheaper after being subsidized. This has consequences on the consumer environmental awareness (CEA) as excessive use of certain products e.g. fuel, may result in environmental pollution. Using a systematic literature review, we explore subsidy and environmental awareness among consumers. We focus on environmental awareness as an interesting issue to bring forward in this research and our study contributes to the existing literature. The results of our study imply that the provision of subsidies on fuels resulted in excessive use of self-transport which has an impact on climate change. However, in other cases, green subsidies do benefit society in general. High environmental awareness can be decisive in influencing green purchasing behaviour, resulting in high demand for green products.

Large allocations for fuel subsidies have long put the Government of Malaysia’s budget under great strain. Using a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, this paper evaluates the impact of fuel subsidy rationalization on sectoral output and employment. Employment is classified into occupational categories and skill levels. Fuel subsidies were measured using the disaggregation of prices for petrol, diesel, and other fuel products. Findings show that removing fuel subsidies would hit economic performance through high input costs, specifically for industries closely attached to the petroleum refinery sector. The manufacturing sector has the largest reduction in output and employment. Nevertheless, high- and medium-skilled labor forces experience increased demand. To increase economic efficiency, the savings from the removal of fuel subsidies should be put toward policies such as sales tax reduction. This study provides useful information for policy makers in evaluating or updating current subsidy policies to reduce economic losses.

We develop an agent-based model to study the effects of the electricity market reform on the electricity prices, the power plants’ technology mix as well as their capacity utilization and profits. The reform’s main objective is to open the electricity market to more competition and increase the efficiency. The new wholesale electricity market will operate based on the one-day-ahead auctions organized by the independent system operator. We set up two scenarios in which the market clearing mechanism changes from the pay-as-bid to market clearing price (MCP) and the fuel subsidy to power plants will be removed. The effects of the two scenarios will be analyzed on the market prices, plant revenues, market shares, and power generating units’ capacities. The simulation results show that the electricity prices are higher during the peak load mainly due to the entry of the higher cost plants during those periods. Electricity prices are lower under the MCP scenario and higher under the fuel subsidy removal scenario, leading to lower and higher revenues for the power plants, respectively. The results also indicate that the market shares and the capacity utilization of the more efficient plants will increase under both scenarios.

Ending subsidies on fossil fuels is vital for tackling the climate crises and promoting a transition to cleaner energy systems. However, ensuring a successful subsidy reform requires a detailed understanding of its potential impacts and measures to ameliorate those impacts. This study employs a dynamic computable general equilibrium model to examine the impact of fuel subsidy rationalization in Nigeria and evaluate the proposed compensation and reinvestment plans of the government in minimizing welfare losses and reviving economic activities. We found that a complete, one-off removal of fuel subsidies results in severe economic headwinds and significant welfare losses. While the proposed compensation and reinvestment plans of the government brought positive welfare gains and undid many economic headwinds, it was not the optimal policy pathway in terms of resource allocation. Our result showed that a balanced allocation of resources between compensation and reinvestment that implements three-quarters of the total expenditure in 2024 and the remaining one-quarter in 2025 offered better outcomes. We recommend practical measures to implement the proposed plan to minimize fallouts and maximize economic, social, and environmental gains. • Fuel subsidies is gone in Nigeria but there are plans to cushion its effects. • We study the impact of the reform and the plans to mitigate its impacts. • We found that the impact was adversarial, but the plans were beneficial. • We offer practical measures to maximize benefits from the plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is expected that fuel subsidy removal should hinder carbon emissions growth through low energy consumption channels amid higher energy prices. However, outliers in this theoretical disposition make empirical proof of the fuel subsidy-carbon intensity apt and primitive. Despite established fuel subsidy abolishment gains for climate and economic welfare, the relevance, magnitude and policy implications remain dimly. This paper employs the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) estimation procedure to gauge the contemporaneous influence of fuel subsidy for carbon intensity in Nigeria. Findings revealed that fuel subsidy removal inversely relates to Nigeria's carbon emission in the short run and long run. The study recommends a complementary policy option that ensures additional financial savings to the government should be invested in public sector growth that can cushion the effect of relative income loss to the citizenry. The Nigerian government should ensure measures are kept in place to discourage overconsumption of alternative energy (for example coal) that could also threaten the green economy paradox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates the impact of economic growth and fuel subsidy on the environment of Nigeria from the year 1985-2018. We used Auto-regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) to analyse the data employed in this study. From our findings, it was revealed that output per head had a positive and significant impact on carbon emission both in the long-run and short-run, while subsidy which explains government policy also had a negative and significant impact on carbon emission both in the short-run and long-run. The Error Correction Model (ECM) showed that 96% of shocks in the response variable are corrected in the long-run by the independent variables. It was concluded that increasing output in the economy increases the amount of carbon emission in the economy while removal of fuel subsidy reduces the amount of carbon emission in the economy. Therefore, effective policies should be implemented towards reducing carbon emission without hampering the growth of the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study on the effect of fuel subsidies toward oil import is a controversial topic discussions. This study will explore the effect of fuel subsidies on oil import by adding several independent variables, consist of; the number of vehichles, the exchange rate and inflation. Data use time series data from 1980-2013. The tool of analyze is Ordinary Least Squares Method (OLS).Based on the results show that the simultaneous test explains that the fuel subsidies, the number of vehichles, the exchange rate, and inflation have a significant effect on oil import. However partially, the variables of fuel subsidies, the number of vehichles, and the exchange rate have a positive and significant effect on oil import. Inflation does not affect on oil import. The coefficient of determination uses Adjusted R-square test is about 98%. The implication of this study is governments can increase oil production Indonesia. The government should facilitate the licensing of investment and rejuvenate the old oil wells. It aims to reduce Indonesia dependence on oil import so that it can save foreign exchange reserves.

The marine fishery resources in the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia are overexploited by fishing effort by the trawlers. The encroachment of trawlers to the near-shore fishery and conflict between traditional fishers and trawlers still exists, although a licensing system was imposed by trawl fishery management. The dynamics of fishing effort with various alternative management policies was analyzed, and the proper combination of the management policies was selected in order to control overcapacity by the trawlers and provide sustainable management of the trawl fishing industry. System simulation analysis was carried out to determine effort dynamics and the performance of the industry. The results indicated that, the management policy, including the combination of reducing 50% of licenses issued in 2012 coupled with a decreasing fuel price subsidy and increasing landings charges, could be the proposed management policy for the sustainable management of Zone B trawlers in the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of climate change and tight fiscal conditions after the 2008 crises, fuel subsidy reform has become a popular policy. The G20 leaders, in their Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania meeting in 2009, committed to phase out inefficient fuel subsidies. However, little is known about the implications of removing subsidies on food prices and welfare. I study the welfare effects of such reforms through their impacts on the spatial dispersion of food prices using a "natural experiment" from Ethiopia. I employ time-regression discontinuity design using a highly disaggregated monthly grain price data (1996–2013) from 300 locations. I find the following: (a) the reform substantially increased grain price dispersion; (b) there are notable spatial heterogeneities in the treatment effect; (c) even if the reform has had no impact on overall price levels, it increased cross-sectional spatial price differences; and (d) net-sellers of grain in remote districts and some urban households experienced welfare losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trade unions’ instrumental role in four decades of successful popular resistance against subsidy removals is widely recognised, but insufficiently understood due to inadequate consideration of the particularities of labour. The subsidy contestations are considered a barometer of Nigerian politics, and the 2012 subsidy protests – often referred as Occupy Nigeria – was one of the largest popular mobilisations in Nigerian history. Whereas unionists described the outcome as a successful demonstration of popular sovereignty, other protesters blamed the unions for unfulfilled democratic opportunities and for succumbing to bribery. With labour theoretical perspectives, this article critically examines the trade unions’ positions, actions and relations during those protests. The article demonstrates, in practice, not only how the unions’ capacities to mobilise, strike and negotiate, were instrumental to the reinstatement of the subsidy, but also how trade unions’ agency is both enabled and constrained by labour's multiple embeddedness in state, civil society and the market. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Protests result from unpleasant situations and the need for change in the social and economic conditions of the people. Music is often employed during protests. Several articles have been conducted on the Occupy Nigeria protest of 2012. However, little has been said about the musical sound space that mobilised the masses to embark on protest marches in Nigeria. This article focuses on sound space as employed during the Occupy Nigeria protest of 2012. It analyses the movements of people from the social media space to a musical space, as witnessed during the protests in Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park, Ojota Lagos. It further analyses the content of the music of selected musicians, whose music was played, or who personally performed during the protest. Both primary and secondary data were used. The data included interviews with protesters and some musicians in Lagos state, Nigeria. Secondary sources included books, periodicals, journals, the use of YouTube videos of the protesting masses, as well as information sourced from the net. Based on Deprivations-Frustrations-Aggressions and critical discourse analysis (CDA) theories, the findings show that the organised protest started on the media space and was sustained through the sound space at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park. The article further argues that the music space was not a jamboree, but a revolutionary movement against the government of the day in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia has serious traffic jams. This study uses data from 19 Indonesian toll roads over 2008–2015 to calculate the effects of Indonesia’s historic recent fuel subsidy reforms on motor vehicle travel. The timing of the reforms was determined by budgetary and political factors, providing a suitable setting for estimating a causal effect. We control for a broad set of other factors potentially influencing traffic flows. Estimates using monthly data suggest an immediate fuel price elasticity of motor vehicle flows on the roads in our study of –0.1, increasing to –0.2 when responses over a year are considered. We estimate that Indonesia’s fuel subsidy reforms of 2013 and 2014 had reduced traffic pressure on these roads in the second half of 2015 by around 10% relative to the counterfactual without reform. A move to an adequate fuel excise system could contribute to more free-flowing traffic, while generating revenue for infrastructure and other investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides an insight into sustainability issues arising from a full market pricing of premium motor spirit (PMS) (a 100% fuel subsidy removal) in Nigeria and its implications on macroeconomic growth and public welfare. Methodologically, the study used a Structuralist Computable General-Equilibrium model to run simulations that indicate the nature of the effects of PMS full market pricing over the period 2015 - 2020. The findings show that 100% increases in PMS will amplify both the income and consumption losses of households, worsen inflation and better-off government account balance. The findings also show that, government income witnessed positive growth, while output, investment and current account had both positive and negative effects. This study provides a basis for recommendations on the adjustment path that the country need to take in order to mitigate the adverse impact of 100% fuel subsidy removal and draws some useful policy options for a sustainable developmental reform in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The protests that took place in Nigeria due to removal of fuel subsidy by the Jonathan administration in January 2012, tagged 'Occupy Nigeria Protest', have been labelled the social media revolution by the conventional media commentators in the country. For the first time in the history of the country, ethnic, regional and religious differences were set aside to confront the State in an arena without any State control: the Internet and its social communities, unrestricted, uncontrolled, uninhibited; the images, imageries and imaginations of the protestors deconstructed State authority and control ? often in the face of brutal State attempts at offline suppression ? and spread messages of solidarity and 'anti-State' forces. Using semiotic analysis and grounded within the theories of intermedialities, the findings suggest that the images on social media had played a significant role in mobilizing the protesters to come out and keep them on the street for the period of the protest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fuel subsidy removal is assumed to translate to general increase in the cost of operating business such as fish marketing.The response of price of fish and corresponding demand elasticity are welfare issues worthy of investigation in Nigeria. The present study evaluates price transmission in fish marketing system by analysing the response of fish market indices to fuel subsidy reform in Nigeria. Primary data collected with structured questionnaire from purposively selected 78 frozen fish marketers, were analysed with descriptive statistics and regression model. A test of hypothesis shows a significant price transmission of about 100% (P < 0.05). Marketing cost increased by 31.8% and profitability dropped by 24.20%, confirming negative effect of new price regime. The result further revealed a 0.05% drop in quantity of frozen fish demanded by households. It was recommended that economic measures should be introduced by the government to cushion the effect of fuel policy removal.

Statistics indicate a continuous growth in gasoline consumption for transportation in Iran. The volume of domestic consumption of gasoline in recent years has exceeded the country’s refining capacity, and a substantial volume has to be imported to meet the increasing demand for fuel. A growing urban population, together with ever increasing popularity of cars and subsidized fuel prices are considered among the most significant factors for this phenomenon. Which, among other problems, has created a substantial burden for the public budget and a rather serious air pollution in urban communities. Although, rising fuel consumption and its environmental impact could be seen as a common problem in most countries today, it is noteworthy however, that technological progress in urban transportation has presented certain useful alternatives. This study attempts to use advanced econometric methods to postulate a perspective for the long term gasoline consumption in Iran. Subsequently, it proceeds to examines the economic feasibility of utilizing a more advanced automobiles (i.e. Electro Hybrid cars) as an alternative mean for urban transportation. Findings of the study indicate a rather substantial stream of benefits for the economy, in terms of reduced gasoline consumption, as well as, lower air pollution for urban centers.

In India, the budgetary subsidy has increased enormously over the period of time. Between 2002-03 and 2014-15, the budgetary subsidy rose by more than six-fold. Alarmingly, explicit subsidy alone had a share of 96 percent to the total budgetary subsidy of the Government of India. Food, fertilizer and fuel subsidies are the major contributors to the rising explicit subsidy. Though the Government has made attempts in cutting down the subsidies, the current progress in subsidy reforms is insufficient. It is eating away a lion's share in the Government's expenditure, which otherwise could have been deployed for building up physical and human capital assets. It is against this background the present study attempted to investigate empirically the impact of explicit subsidies on the fiscal consolidation of the Central Government. The study intends to draw attention of policy makers on how increasing subsidies not only puts the nation in the debt trap but also stagnates the capability of the manpower. Secondary data from authentic sources have been procured for this research and they are analysed by employing statistical tools including multiple regression. Based on the outcome of the study, certain policy recommendations are made to rationalize explicit subsidies and attain fiscal discipline. One of the prominent suggestions was to done away with subsidies to the maximum extent possible and target subsidies only to the financially weaker section of the economy and could be delivered directly to their bank accounts under Direct Benefit Scheme (DBS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a historical account of Chinese public policy on fisheries subsidies, and a discussion of problems and limitations resulting from the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round fisheries subsidies negotiation. By analyzing subsidization trends and applying a proportional assessment of subsidized areas, the article tracks the evolvement of Chinese fishery policy objective and priorities. Chinese fishery is not historically significantly subsidized in light of its relatively market-oriented structure and a sustained momentum in reducing marine capture capacity. However, due to the commitment to encouraging qualitative growth and to satisfying a rising domestic demand for fish, the government seeks for adequate policy space to employ fuel, distant water fisheries, infrastructure and various ‘green light’ subsidies. Whether or not such a claim can be accepted as a developmental right not an exception remains to be answered by the revision of current negotiation draft. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Government's incompetence causes public restlessness; nevertheless, it overlooks how this shapes public trust. This paper examines how government's failure to meet the expectations of the governed has caused it to lose public trust in Nigeria. Using exchange theory as its theoretical framework, the survey research design, involving the use of qualitative and quantitative methods, was adopted. It covered the three senatorial districts in Lagos using data obtained from 220 respondents selected through a multistage sampling procedure. Three focus group discussions were conducted for complementary qualitative data. Data analysis involved the use of simple percentages, chi square and content analysis. The findings indicated that 90.0% of the respondents said subsidy proceeds were poorly managed by government, that they distrust government (85.0%), equate trust with votes (60.0%) and that dishonesty reduces public trust (60.0%). To develop trust in government, 80.0% of the respondents suggested transparency. The paper concludes that nonfulfilment of promises by government erodes its trust by public. Therefore, the paper suggests that for public trust in government to endure, the culture of impunity should be uprooted from Nigerian polity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper for the first time systematically examines fuel dual-pricing policy (FDPP) in the context of developing countries. Governments in most of these countries pay a heavy price for subsidizing fossil fuels and thus, most of these countries suffer from adverse economic, social and environmental consequences. In these circumstances, governments cannot take the risk of social unrest and economic shock by quickly removing fuel subsidies. FDPP can be addressed as a transitional policy to liberalize fuel prices. However, the literature fails miserably to address the dynamics of FDPP execution due to the lack of valid empirical data. Accurate analysis making use of long-term valid data could shed light on this dilemma. Through a scenario planning approach, this study evaluates the positive and negative impacts of executing or terminating FDPP. In general, it is concluded that, despite difficulties in formulation and implementation, FDPP has the potential for several positive economic and environmental effects through which fuel-subsidizing economies can employ FDPP as a transition pathway to liberalizing fuel prices. • This paper for the first time examines fuel dual-pricing policy (FDPP). • The FDPP can be addressed to tackle the upward trend of fuel consumption. • FDPP can be addressed as a transitional policy to liberalize fuel prices. • This paper used scenario planning method with real data to assess the FDPP. • The FDPP also could have substantial environmental achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fishery fuel subsidies reduce the cost of fishery production, promote the continuous expansion of the fishing vessel scale and fishing intensity, lead to overfishing, and eventually result in the deterioration of fishery resources. Based on survey data from Rongcheng, Xiangshan and Beihai, China, in 2018 and 2019, this paper analyzes the cost-benefit, break-even and sensitivity of bottom trawlers to explore the impact of fuel subsidies on bottom trawl fishery operations in China. The results show that the fuel expenditure is the biggest production cost of bottom trawl fishery. The fishery fuel subsidies are crucial to most bottom trawling economies. With fuel subsidies, the break-even operation ratios of bottom trawlers in all three fishing areas are below 100%, and trawler operations are profitable. Without fuel subsidies, only Xiangshan's trawler operation is in a safe range and can continue to operate. The results of the sensitivity analysis show that the catch price and the fuel cost are the top two sensitivity indexes and the two most important determinants of net profit in the bottom trawl fishery operation. Without fuel subsidies a large number of bottom trawlers will withdraw from fishing and decrease fishing effort, thereby reduce the current threat to fish stocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article incorporates illegal fuel trading behavior to examine the effects of changes in the fishery subsidy rate, detection effort, and fish price on the level of fishing, illegal fuel trading, and fish biomass. The corresponding effects on the fishermans profits and the profits of the oil company that supplies the raw fuel to the fishery are also examined The findings are, first, that the subsidy policy benefits the oil company, but its effects on the fisherman are ambiguous. Second, an increase in detection effort leads to less illegal activity in relation to fuel trading and more legal fishing resulting in less fish biomass. The detection policy hurts the oil company, the fisherman who engages in fuel trading, and resource conservation. Finally, an increase in fish price leads to a similar result as an increase in detection effort, but the effects on the fishermans profits are reversed The oil company also benefits from increasing fish price. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides novel evidence on the impact of changes in energy prices on manufacturing performance in two large developing economies — Indonesia and Mexico. It finds that unlike increases in electricity prices, which harm plants' performance, fuel price hikes result in higher productivity and profits of manufacturing plants. The results of instrumental variable estimation imply that a 10 percent increase in fuel prices would lead to a 1.6 percent increase in total factor productivity for Indonesian and 1.4 percent for Mexican plants. These effects are driven by the incentives that fuel price increases provide to plants towards replacing inefficient fuel-powered with more productive electricity-powered capital equipment. These results help to re-evaluate the policy trade-off between reducing carbon emissions and improving economic performance, particularly in countries with large fuel subsidies such as Indonesia and Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reduce the mounting pressure on government budget due to rising expenditures related to all sorts of subsidies, including those for the banking sector and domestic fuel consumption, the Indonesian Government has opted to cut only the fuel subsidies. Following the surge of the world price of oil, the size of the cut was huge, causing the average domestic fuel prices to increase by more than 120 per cent. It is argued in this paper that such a policy is ill-advised. A partial reduction, not an enormous cut, would have been sufficient if it is complemented with a fractional cut of sovereign domestic debt payments. Based on a set of simulations on a financial general equilibrium model, it is shown that slicing subsidies for the banking sector, providing that the saved money are spent on agricultural-related infrastructures, could produce a favourable outcome in terms of income distribution and poverty conditions without deteriorating the macroeconomic stability or injuring investors' confidence. Compared with the fuel subsidies cut, the number of population affected by such a policy will also be much smaller. Thus, a drastic and massive reduction of fuel subsidies is unnecessary, especially considering the adverse socio-economic and political repercussions of it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the most part the public debate on fossil fuel energy subsidies has been governed by two arguments. From the position of the profit-maximizing firm, the economic rationale has gravitated towards the issue of cost-competitiveness: The reduction of emissions requires a cutback of energy consumption which, when operating through the pricing mechanism, drives up the cost of inputs; increases in fossil fuel prices may therefore harm competitiveness. On the other hand, the environmental argument stresses the importance of cost transparency and externalities. However, there has also emerged a body of research which introduces a second layer to the argument of cost-competitiveness by emphazising that an increase in energy prices may not necessarily be detrimental to economic performance. This study provides novel evidence on this insight by examining the effect of a change in fossil fuel subsidies on the manufacturing industry of an oil-rich Middle Eastern economy. Using a novel firm-level micro data set on Omani manufacturing enterprises, our work shows that increases in fossil fuel energy factor prices lead to improvements in productivity as well as efficiency and notable business upgrading. The findings in this paper indicate that subsidy reforms may not only be used to achieve environmental goals but may also drive upgrading and modernization processes of firms that can, ultimately, also improve economic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nationwide transitions from cooking with solid fuels to clean fuels promise substantial health, climate, and environmental benefits. For decades, Ecuador has invested heavily in consumption subsidies for liquified petroleum gas (LPG), a leading clean fuel. With the goal of understanding household energy use in a context where LPG is ubiquitous and cheap, we administered 808 household surveys in peri-urban and rural communities in Coastal and Andean Ecuadorian provinces. We assess cooking fuel patterns after long-term LPG access and the reach of induction stoves promoted through a recent government program. Nearly all participants reported using LPG for more than a decade and frequent, convenient access to highly subsidized LPG. Nonetheless, half of rural households and 20% of peri-urban households rely on firewood to meet specific household energy needs, like space heating or heating water for bathing. Induction was rare and many induction owners reported zero use because the required equipment had never been installed by electricity companies, their stove had broken, or due to fears of high electricity costs. Our discussion is instructive for other countries because of Ecuador's long-standing clean fuel policies, robust LPG market and standardized cylinder recirculation model, and promotion of induction stoves.