Energy Subsidy Reform (ESRx)

Source details

Session No.: OL 24.148
Deadline: Deadline passed
Location: Course conducted online
Date: May 1, 2024 - April 15, 2025 (50 weeks)
Delivery Method: Online Training
Primary Language: English
Course language availability: English and Arabic
Target Audience: All government officials; particularly officials in finance, economy, and planning ministries who provide advice on macroeconomic policies or implement policy
Qualifications and technical requirements:
- Some knowledge of economics would be helpful
- Basic Microsoft Excel skills
- Access to a computer with a reliable Internet connection and a Google Chrome web browser are essential

Presented jointly by:
- the Institute for Capacity Development
- the Fiscal Affairs Department
- Middle East and Central Asia Department
- Asia and Pacific Department
Focus: design of technical assistance and subsidy reform to make recommendations on how best to reduce energy subsidies

Introduces the concept of energy subsidies, including:
- definition and measurement of energy subsidies
- estimation of pre- and post-tax subsidies
Reviews implications of energy subsidies:
- economic implications
- social implications
- environmental implications
Presents toolkits and analytical instruments:
- toolkits to assess distributional effects of alternative subsidy reform scenarios
- an Excel-based toolkit to assess the effects of alternative energy subsidy reform scenarios on households in different income groups
- toolkits to design a fuel pricing mechanism and to mitigate fuel price volatility

Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to:

Explain the concept of energy subsidies and estimate pre- and post-tax subsidies
Define corrective energy taxes and explain how to calculate them
Describe the economic, social, and environmental impact of energy subsidies
Explain how to design robust subsidy reform strategies
Design policy responses to mitigate the effects of subsidy reform on inflation and on household welfare
Use an Excel-based toolkit to assess the effects of alternative energy subsidy reform scenarios on households in different income groups
Design effective fuel pricing mechanisms to mitigate fuel price volatility