Subsidy WatchIssue 23, May 2008

  • The true price of energy in Asia: pricing non-costed externalities

    By Rahul Goswami*

    There are signs aplenty in rural Asia of the profligate use of energy - electrical and fossil fuel - but little evidence that such use is being assessed against its true costs. This is because supplying cheap power (and in some cases free power) is a valuable political lever.

    In rural Asia, the value of such 'support' can be judged by the scale of popular opposition to its withdrawal.

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Also in this issue:

News

  • Government spending takes centre stage in Dominican election campaign

    With presidential elections taking place later this month, the government of the Dominican Republic has announced a slate of new subsidy schemes that the opposition are labeling ill-conceived election posturing.

    President Leonel Fernandez of the ruling  Dominican Liberation Party (PLD by its initials in Spanish) is fighting for at least 50%  plus one of the vote in the 16 May elections, in order to avoid a runoff under Dominican elections law.

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Studies

  • Australian biofuel subsidies: latest release in the GSI “Biofuels at What Cost?” series

    The Australian government spent A$ 95 million on biofuel production and consumption in 2006–07, according to the latest country study by the GSI on government support to biofuels. That cost could grow to several hundred million dollars a year by the end of the decade if planned new ethanol and biodiesel capacity comes on-line over the next two years. Currently, biofuels contribute less than 0.5% of Australia’s transport-fuel needs.

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  • Model WTO subsidy notification template applied to Germany

    The FiFo Institute for Public Economics of the University of Cologne has applied a template developed by the GSI for notifying subsidies to the World Trade Organization (WTO), using Germany as the test case. The study reveals that the template vastly improves subsidy reporting.

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  • WWF warns small-scale fishing can cause big harm

    A paper by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) cautions that the reluctance by some WTO Members to strengthen rules against subsidies to small fishing vessels threatens to undermine a potential agreement that would discipline fisheries subsidies that contribute to overfishing.

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  • Public funds to political parties on the rise in the UK

    Indirect public subsidies to political parties in the UK have increased substantially over the last several decades, according to a study by the Policy Exchange think tank.

    These indirect payments to political parties include free political broadcasts, allowances to member of parliament, and costs associated with special advisors and aids.

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  • PBS features documentary on journalists’ investigation into U.S. farm subsidies

    Bill Moyers hosted a documentary on the U.S. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) that follows several Washington Post reporters as they investigate farms subsidies in the United States. The 2006 Washington Post investigation resulted in a series of articles that uncovered vast flaws in U.S. agricultural subsidies. The journalists were recently awarded six Pulitzer Prizes.

    The PBS documentary, Cash Cows and Cowboy Starter Kits, is available on-line:
    http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04112008/watch2.html

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