Food subsidies and cash transfers in Egypt: Evaluating general equilibrium benefits and trade-offs
Most Egyptians receive food subsidies, which are the cornerstone of the country’s social protection system. The government recently attempted to reduce subsidies, with limited success, and introduced a cash transfer program targeting the poor. We use a dynamic general equilibrium model of the Egypti...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Artículo preliminar |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
International Food Policy Research Institute
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143776 |
| _version_ | 1855520911566831616 |
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| author | Breisinger, Clemens Kassim, Yumna Kurdi, Sikandra Randriamamonjy, Josee Thurlow, James |
| author_browse | Breisinger, Clemens Kassim, Yumna Kurdi, Sikandra Randriamamonjy, Josee Thurlow, James |
| author_facet | Breisinger, Clemens Kassim, Yumna Kurdi, Sikandra Randriamamonjy, Josee Thurlow, James |
| author_sort | Breisinger, Clemens |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Most Egyptians receive food subsidies, which are the cornerstone of the country’s social protection system. The government recently attempted to reduce subsidies, with limited success, and introduced a cash transfer program targeting the poor. We use a dynamic general equilibrium model of the Egyptian economy to evaluate the growth and distributional impacts of subsidy reforms and cash transfers. We find that the welfare of poor households would be enhanced by a smaller, but better targeted food subsidy program, and that, if the cost savings from reforms are channeled into investment, faster economic growth would eventually outweigh any short-term welfare losses. However, most of the gains from subsidy reforms accrue to nonpoor households. Combining subsidy reforms with cash transfers leads to the largest welfare gains for the poor, while leaving the welfare of nonpoor households largely intact. The latter is crucial to maintaining support for ongoing subsidy reform efforts. |
| format | Artículo preliminar |
| id | CGSpace143776 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateRange | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| publisherStr | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1437762025-11-06T05:47:47Z Food subsidies and cash transfers in Egypt: Evaluating general equilibrium benefits and trade-offs Breisinger, Clemens Kassim, Yumna Kurdi, Sikandra Randriamamonjy, Josee Thurlow, James models social protection computable general equilibrium models cash transfers subsidies poverty Most Egyptians receive food subsidies, which are the cornerstone of the country’s social protection system. The government recently attempted to reduce subsidies, with limited success, and introduced a cash transfer program targeting the poor. We use a dynamic general equilibrium model of the Egyptian economy to evaluate the growth and distributional impacts of subsidy reforms and cash transfers. We find that the welfare of poor households would be enhanced by a smaller, but better targeted food subsidy program, and that, if the cost savings from reforms are channeled into investment, faster economic growth would eventually outweigh any short-term welfare losses. However, most of the gains from subsidy reforms accrue to nonpoor households. Combining subsidy reforms with cash transfers leads to the largest welfare gains for the poor, while leaving the welfare of nonpoor households largely intact. The latter is crucial to maintaining support for ongoing subsidy reform efforts. 2021-06-01 2024-05-22T12:16:48Z 2024-05-22T12:16:48Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143776 en https://doi.org/10.1093/jae/ejad006 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133402 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133192 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133773 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Breisinger, Clemens; Kassim, Yumna; Kurdi, Sikandra; Randriamamonjy, Josée; and Thurlow, James. 2021. Food subsidies and cash transfers in Egypt: Evaluating general equilibrium benefits and trade-offs. MENA RP Working Paper 34. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134427. |
| spellingShingle | models social protection computable general equilibrium models cash transfers subsidies poverty Breisinger, Clemens Kassim, Yumna Kurdi, Sikandra Randriamamonjy, Josee Thurlow, James Food subsidies and cash transfers in Egypt: Evaluating general equilibrium benefits and trade-offs |
| title | Food subsidies and cash transfers in Egypt: Evaluating general equilibrium benefits and trade-offs |
| title_full | Food subsidies and cash transfers in Egypt: Evaluating general equilibrium benefits and trade-offs |
| title_fullStr | Food subsidies and cash transfers in Egypt: Evaluating general equilibrium benefits and trade-offs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Food subsidies and cash transfers in Egypt: Evaluating general equilibrium benefits and trade-offs |
| title_short | Food subsidies and cash transfers in Egypt: Evaluating general equilibrium benefits and trade-offs |
| title_sort | food subsidies and cash transfers in egypt evaluating general equilibrium benefits and trade offs |
| topic | models social protection computable general equilibrium models cash transfers subsidies poverty |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143776 |
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