Res.Asst. Dr. C. Kemal Can’s book chapter on the economic effects of energy subsidies titled “Implications of Energy Subsidies from Economic Standpoint” was published in the book “Sustainability in Energy Business and Finance” by Springer Nature.
In the book chapter, CAN mentioned that the consumption of energy is inevitable for modern economic activities and is heavily subsidized by governments. However, in the study, it is mentioned that it had serious consequences in different ways such as income inequalities, market inefficiencies, profligacy etc. The author also mentioned in his study that these adverse conditions arise through energy subsidies, national income, balance of payments and public finance channels and that developing countries are more heavily affected by the negative effects of energy subsidies for budgetary reasons and suffer from energy poverty due to the difficulties they experience in accessing energy. Therefore, the study emphasized that the design of energy policies should be calibrated by policy makers considering country-specific conditions and ongoing trends, in order to avoid the negative effects and inefficiencies caused by energy subsidies. Despite the numerous commitments of the international community to reduce energy subsidies for various reasons, the fact that no significant results have been achieved on this ground so far and that current price trends reveal opportunities for reform were among the issues addressed in the study.