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Evaluating the impact of reforming the food subsidy program in Egypt: A Mixed Demand approach

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  • Ramadan, Racha
  • Thomas, Alban

Abstract

Food subsidy is one of the policies considered to protect consumer welfare against food price increases, in particular when the insufficient local production has to be complemented by food imports with volatile prices. Egypt has experienced several "food crises" (the latest in 2008), which put an halt to attempts to reform in depth the system of food subsidies because of social unrest. In this paper, we use a Mixed Demand approach to analyze the consumption structure of Egyptian households. Our model specification takes into consideration the characteristics of the Egyptian food subsidy system, where some food items have predetermined quotas while others are associated with predetermined (subsidized) prices. Price, income and quota elasticities are estimated from the Egyptian family expenditure survey, and welfare change measures are derived by income class. Simulations of various options to eliminate subsidies on selected food items are conducted. We estimate the negative welfare impact of the reforms, especially in the context of increasing food prices, by comparing welfare effects of policy options by income quartiles and by household category (rural, urban).

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  • Ramadan, Racha & Thomas, Alban, 2011. "Evaluating the impact of reforming the food subsidy program in Egypt: A Mixed Demand approach," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 637-645, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:36:y:2011:i:5:p:637-645
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    Cited by:

    1. Xufang Zhang & Minghua Zhao & Xiaojie Wang & Rongqing Han, 2022. "Regional Differences of Farmers’ Willingness to Grow Grain and Its Influencing Factors in Shandong Province under the Background of New-Type Urbanization," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-21, August.
    2. Willeke Veninga & Rico Ihle, 2018. "Import vulnerability in the Middle East: effects of the Arab spring on Egyptian wheat trade," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(1), pages 183-194, February.
    3. Hatab, Assem Abu & Hess, Sebastian, 2021. ""Feed the Mouth, the Eye Ashamed": Have Food Prices Triggered Social Unrest in Egypt?," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315082, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Javier García-Enríquez & Cruz A. Echevarría, 2016. "Consistent Estimation of a Censored Demand System and Welfare Analysis: The 2012 VAT Reform in Spain," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(2), pages 324-347, June.
    5. Mehta, Aashish & Jha, Shikha & Quising, Pilipinas, 2013. "Self-targeted food subsidies and voice: Evidence from the Philippines," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 204-217.
    6. Catharien Terwisscha van Scheltinga & Angel Miguel Garcia & Gert-Jan Wilbers & Hanneke Heesmans & Rutger Dankers & Eric Smaling, 2021. "Unravelling the interplay between water and food systems in arid and semi-arid environments: the case of Egypt," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(5), pages 1145-1161, October.
    7. Kishore, Avinash & Chakrabarti, Suman, 2015. "Is more inclusive more effective? The ‘New Style’ public distribution system in India," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 117-130.
    8. Imane Helmy & Christian Richter & Khalid Siddig & Hebatallah Ghoneim, 2018. "A Comparison of the Economics Impacts of Conditional and Unconditional Cash Transfers in Egypt," Working Papers 50, The German University in Cairo, Faculty of Management Technology.
    9. Saeed Solaymani, 2016. "Impacts of energy subsidy reform on poverty and income inequality in Malaysia," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 50(6), pages 2707-2723, November.
    10. Javier García-Enríquez & Cruz A. Echevarría, 2018. "Demand for culture in Spain and the 2012 VAT rise," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 42(3), pages 469-506, August.
    11. Hjertstrand, Per, 2022. "Nonparametric Analysis of the Mixed-Demand Model," Working Paper Series 1430, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    12. Mehta, Aashish & Jha, Shikha, 2014. "Pilferage from opaque food subsidy programs: Theory and evidence," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 69-79.

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