{
  "title": "The Distributional and Fiscal Implications of Public Utility Pricing",
  "publication": "IMF Working Papers, June 2, 2023",
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  "summary": "The setting of public utility prices involves balancing various competing government policy objectives, from equity concerns to ensuring the financial sustainability of providers and balancing public finances.",
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    {
      "heading": "Summary",
      "content": "- The setting of public utility prices involves balancing competing government policy objectives, from equity concerns to ensuring the financial sustainability of providers and balancing public finances.\n- In practice, public utility pricing often departs significantly from government objectives and tends to be characterized by unnecessarily complex price schedules, below cost-recovery tariff rates, and sectoral inefficiencies that contribute to large fiscal costs.\n- Countries commonly embark on utility pricing reform in response to these heavy fiscal pressures.\n- The paper discusses various reform options available to governments, with a focus on residential pricing schedules, highlighting their fiscal, financial, redistributive, and efficiency implications."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Key findings",
      "content": "- Public utility price schedules are frequently unnecessarily complex.\n- Tariff rates are often set below cost-recovery levels.\n- Sectoral inefficiencies in utility pricing contribute to large fiscal costs.\n- Utility pricing reform is commonly initiated because of heavy fiscal pressures."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Reform focus and implications",
      "content": "- The paper concentrates on residential pricing schedules.\n- Reform options are evaluated with respect to:\n  - fiscal implications\n  - financial implications for providers\n  - redistributive implications for households\n  - efficiency implications across sectors"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Subjects and keywords",
      "content": "- Subject: Commodities, Consumption, Electricity, Household consumption, Income, National accounts, Tariffs, Taxes\n- Keywords: baseline tariff schedule, Consumption, cost-recovery tariff, efficiency, Electricity, equity, fiscal sustainability, Household consumption, Income, proxy-means test discount scheme, Public utility pricing, subsidy reform, Tariffs, utility pricing reform strategy\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- Working Paper\n  - Working Paper (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - Working Paper (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n\n---\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2023/06/02/the-distributional-and-fiscal-implications-of-public-utility-pricing-534106"
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    "Authors: David Coady, Samir Jahan, Fabiana Machado, Mengfei Gu",
    "Published: June 2, 2023",
    "Series: IMF Working Papers",
    "DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400243141.001",
    "The setting of public utility prices involves balancing competing government policy objectives, from equity concerns to ensuring the financial sustainability of providers and balancing public finances.",
    "In practice, public utility pricing often departs significantly from government objectives and tends to be characterized by unnecessarily complex price schedules, below cost-recovery tariff rates, and sectoral inefficiencies that contribute to large fiscal costs.",
    "Countries commonly embark on utility pricing reform in response to these heavy fiscal pressures.",
    "The paper discusses various reform options available to governments, with a focus on residential pricing schedules, highlighting their fiscal, financial, redistributive, and efficiency implications.",
    "Public utility price schedules are frequently unnecessarily complex.",
    "Tariff rates are often set below cost-recovery levels.",
    "Sectoral inefficiencies in utility pricing contribute to large fiscal costs.",
    "Utility pricing reform is commonly initiated because of heavy fiscal pressures.",
    "The paper concentrates on residential pricing schedules.",
    "Reform options are evaluated with respect to:",
    "Subject: Commodities, Consumption, Electricity, Household consumption, Income, National accounts, Tariffs, Taxes",
    "Keywords: baseline tariff schedule, Consumption, cost-recovery tariff, efficiency, Electricity, equity, fiscal sustainability, Household consumption, Income, proxy-means test discount scheme, Public utility pricing, subsidy reform, Tariffs, utility pricing reform strategy",
    "**Working Paper**"
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