Reforming Government Subsidies in the New Member States of the European Union

41 Pages Posted: 16 Jul 2008

See all articles by Carlos Mulas-Granados

Carlos Mulas-Granados

Government of the Kingdom of Spain - Economic Bureau of the President

Taline Koranchelian

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Alex Segura-Ubiergo

International Monetary Fund

Date Written: July 2008

Abstract

Subsidy reform has been a key component of the pre-accession reform agenda of the 10 new member states that joined the EU in 2004 (EU-10). During the pre-accession period, these countries had to undertake a number of important structural reforms in their economies. One of the most critical reforms was to reduce, and in some cases, eliminate their subsidy programs. This paper analyzes how key subsidy reforms (in state aid to enterprises, agriculture, energy, and transportation) were carried out in the EU-10 during 1995-2005, and explains observed variations across types of subsidies and across countries. Based on an extensive qualitative analysis, the paper draws lessons for future successful reforms of government subsidies.

Keywords: Working Paper, European Union, Subsidies, Economic reforms, Agricultural subsidies, Industrial subsidies

Suggested Citation

Mulas-Granados, Carlos and Koranchelian, Taline and Segura-Ubiergo, Alex, Reforming Government Subsidies in the New Member States of the European Union (July 2008). IMF Working Paper No. 08/165, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1160057

Carlos Mulas-Granados (Contact Author)

Government of the Kingdom of Spain - Economic Bureau of the President ( email )

28071 Madrid
Spain

Taline Koranchelian

International Monetary Fund (IMF) ( email )

700 19th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20431
United States

Alex Segura-Ubiergo

International Monetary Fund ( email )

700 19th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20431
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.imf.org

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