Water, Electricity, and the Poor : Who Benefits from Utility Subsidies?

While consumer utility subsidies are widespread in both the water and electricity sectors, their effectiveness in reaching and distributing resources to the poor is the subject of much debate. This publication brings together empirical evidence on...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Komives, Kristin, Foster, Vivien, Halpern, Jonathan, Wodon, Quentin
Other Authors:	Abdullah, Roohi
Format:	Publication
Language:	English
Published:	Washington, DC: World Bank 2012
Subjects:	ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY ACCESS TO SAFE WATER ACCESS TO WATER SUPPLY ADEQUATE FINANCING ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES ALTERNATIVE FUELS APPROACH BALANCE BENEFICIARIES BENEFICIARY CALCULATION CAPITAL SUBSIDIES CASH FLOW CASH PAYMENT CASH TRANSFER CASH TRANSFERS CENTRAL AMERICA CENTRAL GOVERNMENT COLLATERAL CONNECTED HOUSEHOLDS CONNECTION CHARGES CONNECTION FEE CONNECTION FEES CONNECTION SUBSIDY CONSUMER CONSUMER SUBSIDIES CONSUMERS CONSUMPTION BLOCKS CONSUMPTION LEVELS CONTRIBUTION COST ESTIMATES COST INCREASES COST OF WATER COST RECOVERY COST SAVINGS COSTS OF ELECTRICITY CROSS-SUBSIDIES CROSS-SUBSIDIZATION CUBIC METER CUBIC METERS CUSTOMER BASE DEBT DELIVERY OF WATER SUPPLY DEMAND FOR POWER DEVELOPMENT BANK DISPOSABLE INCOMES DISTRIBUTION OF COSTS DRINKING WATER ECONOMIC COST ECONOMIC COSTS ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY ECONOMICS LITERATURE ELASTICITY ELECTRIC UTILITIES ELECTRIC UTILITY ELECTRICITY ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION ELECTRICITY GENERATION ELECTRICITY SUPPLY ELECTRICITY TARIFFS ELECTRICITY UTILITIES ELECTRIFICATION ENERGY USE FINANCIAL LOSS FINANCIAL LOSSES FINANCIAL STABILITY FINANCIAL SUPPORT FIXED CHARGE FIXED CHARGES FIXED COSTS FUEL GDP GENERAL PUBLIC GINI COEFFICIENT GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT GROUPS OF CONSUMERS HOUSEHOLD CONNECTIONS HOUSEHOLD INCOME HOUSEHOLD USE HOUSEHOLDS INCENTIVE COSTS INCOME INCOME ELASTICITY OF DEMAND INCOME GROUP INCOME GROUPS INCOME LEVEL INCOME LEVELS INEFFICIENCY INFORMATION ON CONTRIBUTIONS INTEREST RATE KILOWATT-HOUR KILOWATT-HOURS LARGE CITIES LATIN AMERICAN LITERACY LIVING STANDARDS LOAN LOW-INCOME LOW-INCOME CONSUMERS LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS LOWER LEVEL OF SERVICE
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/10/9866981/water-electricity-poor-benefits-utility-subsidies http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6361

Description
Summary:	While consumer utility subsidies are widespread in both the water and electricity sectors, their effectiveness in reaching and distributing resources to the poor is the subject of much debate. This publication brings together empirical evidence on subsidy performance across a wide range of countries. It documents the prevalence of consumer subsidies, provides a typology of the many variants found in the developing world, and presents a number of indicators useful in assessing the degree to which such subsidies benefit the poor, focusing on three key concepts: beneficiary incidence, benefit incidence, and materiality. The findings on subsidy performance will be useful to policy makers, utility regulators, and sector practitioners who are contemplating introducing, eliminating, or modifying utility subsidies, and to those who view consumer utility subsidies as a social protection instrument.

Water, Electricity, and the Poor : Who Benefits from Utility Subsidies?

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