Egypt, Arab Republic of - Food Subsidies : Benefit Incidence and Leakages
Egypt's food subsidies, important for ensuring political stability, do not target specific groups. The subsidies were introduced during Second World War and have never been targeted. Egyptians seem to perceive food subsidies as the most concre...
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| Format: | Other Agricultural Study |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank
2012
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| Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000333037_20101022010907 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2913 |
| Summary: | Egypt's food subsidies, important
for ensuring political stability, do not target specific
groups. The subsidies were introduced during Second World
War and have never been targeted. Egyptians seem to perceive
food subsidies as the most concrete benefit they receive
from government spending. Seen as an entitlement, food
subsidies are politically sensitive. Section two gives the
historical background of the food subsidy system and
discusses past and planned food subsidy reforms, section
three analyzes the geographical allocation of subsidized
food items and how the allocation corresponds to population
and poverty distribution, and section four analyzes
household participation in food subsidies by income group
and geographic region. Section five uses all this
information to measure the cost of subsidies that do not
reach intended consumers, or the system leakage, and the
potential cost savings from excluding the richest groups
from food subsidies. In section six, the key findings are
summarized and a vision for long-term reforms is outlined. |
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