Worldwide, government spending on subsidies in agriculture, fishing, and fossil fuels amounts to a staggering US$1.25 trillion each year. Subsidies play a major role in every country’s fiscal policies, regardless of income level or spending patterns. Subsidy spending faces greater scrutiny as governments struggle to mobilize more revenue to meet important development targets amid rising debt distress, dwindling aid resources, and citizen protests of tax increases.

Join us for a webinar discussing the popular solution to “repurpose” expensive subsidies toward expenditures that generate higher development benefits. These subsidies aim to address low agricultural productivity, high food prices, and other critical challenges, but their continuing dominance in food system investments raises important questions: Is this an effective way to spend public funds on such a large scale? If not, can some funds be used to finance other needed investments, which may then make subsidies more effective? And if so, what type of investments can they fund? This webinar will explore these questions with a focus on fertilizer subsidies in low-income countries.

This event is hosted by the AgIncentives Consortium and features Danielle Resnick, a Senior Research Fellow in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit at the International Food Policy Research Institute. This event is intended for both researchers and policymakers working on subsidy reform policy, policy alternatives, public expenditures, and related topics.

Opening Remarks

• Jeffrey Bloem, Research Fellow, IFPRI

Presentation

• Danielle Resnick, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

Audience Q&A

Moderated by Jeffrey Bloem, Research Fellow, IFPRI

Closing Remarks

• Ruth Hill, Director, Markets, Trade, and Institutions