Petroleum Product Pricing and Complementary Policies : Experience of 65 Developing Countries Since 2009

Unable to cope fully with steadily climbing world oil prices since mid-2009, many of the 65 countries reviewed in this paper have progressed slowly or even reversed course in reforming pricing of petroleum products. End-user prices in July 2012 varied by two orders of magnitude across the countries. More than two-fifths, including some that had only recently adopted automatic pricing mechanisms, froze the prices of gasoline, diesel, or both for months or even years on end during the study period. When the prices were finally adjusted, the increases were sometimes substantial, leading to large-scale protests, partial or full reversals of price adjustments, or softening of pricing reform policy. Governments' attempts to keep domestic prices artificially low -- through price control, export or quantity restrictions, or political pressure put on oil companies -- have helped curb inflation in the short term, but frequently with serious negative consequences: flourishing black markets, smuggling, fuel adulteration, illegal diversion of subsidy funds, large financial losses suffered by fuel suppliers, deteriorating refining and other infrastructure, and acute fuel shortages causing economy-wide damage. In several countries, subsidies, price controls, and other restrictions have helped protect inefficient refineries and oil marketers. Mitigation responses have included fuel conservation programs; fuel diversification, particularly liquid biofuels to substitute gasoline and diesel; and efforts to lower costs of supply, including strengthening infrastructure, promoting price competition, hedging, negotiating price discounts with exporters, and bulk procurement. Various forms of assistance to consumers have also been offered, especially to households, agriculture, transport, and fisheries.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Kojima, Masami
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2013-04
Subjects:	AIR, AIR CONDITIONING, AIR POLLUTION, ALTERNATIVE FUELS, ANHYDROUS ETHANOL, APPROACH, AUTOMOTIVE FUEL, AVAILABILITY, AVERAGE PRICE, AVIATION FUEL, BACKUP POWER, BALANCE, BARREL, BARRELS PER DAY, BIOMASS, BLACK MARKET, BLACK MARKETS, BORDER PRICES, BUSES, CAR, CAR TRIPS, CARS, COAL, COMMERCIAL RESERVES, COMMODITY PRICE, COMPACT FLUORESCENT LIGHT BULBS, CONGESTION, CONSUMPTION OF PETROLEUM, CONSUMPTION OF POWER, COST OF ETHANOL, COSTS OF ELECTRICITY, CRUDE OIL, CRUDE OIL PRICE, DEMAND FOR PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, DIESEL, DIESEL FUEL, DOMESTIC CRUDE OIL, DOMESTIC MARKET, DOMESTIC MARKETS, DOMESTIC REFINING, DRIVERS, DRIVING, ECONOMIES OF SCALE, EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT, EFFICIENT LIGHTING, EFFICIENT TRAVEL, ELECTRICITY, ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION, ELECTRICITY GENERATION, EMERGING MARKETS, ENERGY CONSERVATION, ENERGY CONSUMPTION, ENERGY EFFICIENCY, ENERGY PRICES, ETHANOL, ETHANOL DEMAND, ETHANOL IN GASOLINE, ETHANOL PRODUCTION, ETHANOL PROGRAM, EXPENDITURE, EXPENDITURES, FEEDSTOCK, FEEDSTOCK COSTS, FEEDSTOCK PRICES, FEEDSTOCKS, FINANCIAL INCENTIVES, FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE, FOSSIL, FOSSIL FUEL, FREIGHT, FUEL, FUEL ADULTERATION, FUEL CONSERVATION, FUEL CONSUMPTION, FUEL COSTS, FUEL ECONOMY, FUEL EFFICIENCY, FUEL EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT, FUEL EFFICIENCY STANDARDS, FUEL MARKET, FUEL OIL, FUEL PRICE, FUEL PRICE INCREASES, FUEL PRICES, FUEL PRICING, FUEL QUALITY, FUEL SHORTAGES, FUEL SPECIFICATIONS, FUEL STORAGE, FUEL STORAGE CAPACITY, FUEL SUBSIDIES, FUEL SUPPLY, FUEL SWITCHING, FUEL TANKS, FUEL TAX, FUEL USE, FUELS, GAS, GAS COMPANIES, GASOLINE, GASOLINE PRICE, HOUSEHOLD FUEL, HYDROPOWER, HYDROPOWER GENERATION, INFLATION, INTERNATIONAL CRUDE OIL, KEROSENE, KEROSENE CONSUMPTION, KEROSENE SUBSIDIES, LAND USE, LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS, LIQUID FUELS, MARGINAL COST, MARKET ENTRY, MARKET PRICE, MARKET PRICES, MARKETING, MONOPOLY, MOTORISTS, NATIONAL OIL, NATIONAL OIL COMPANIES, NATURAL GAS, NATURAL GAS MARKET, NATURAL GAS PRICES, NET OIL, OIL, OIL COMPANIES, OIL COMPANY, OIL CONSUMPTION, OIL EXPORTERS, OIL EXPORTING COUNTRIES, OIL IMPORTS, OIL INDUSTRY, OIL PIPELINE, OIL PRICE, OIL PRICE CHANGES, OIL PRICES, OIL PRICING, OIL PRICING POLICY, OIL PRODUCTION, OIL USE, OILS, PASSENGER TRANSPORT, PEAK POWER, PETROLEUM, PETROLEUM DIESEL, PETROLEUM GAS, PETROLEUM PRICE, PETROLEUM PRODUCT PRICES, PETROLEUM PRODUCT PRICING, PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, PETROLEUM SECTOR, POWER, POWER CONSUMPTION, POWER GENERATION, POWER SECTOR, POWER SHORTAGES, PRICE ADJUSTMENT, PRICE ADJUSTMENTS, PRICE CEILINGS, PRICE CHANGE, PRICE CHANGES, PRICE COMPETITION, PRICE CONTROL, PRICE CONTROLS, PRICE FREEZE, PRICE INCREASE, PRICE INCREASES, PRICE INDEX, PRICE LEVELS, PRICE OF DIESEL, PRICE OF GASOLINE, PRICE OF OIL, PRICE RISK, PRICE STABILIZATION, PRICE SUBSIDIES, PRICE VOLATILITY, PRICING MECHANISM, PRICING MECHANISMS, PRICING POLICIES, PRICING REFORM, PRODUCT PRICING, PROFIT MARGIN, PUBLIC PASSENGER TRANSPORT, PUBLIC PERCEPTION, PUBLIC SAFETY, PUBLIC TRANSPORT, RAIL, REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION, REDUCTION IN FUEL CONSUMPTION, REFINERIES, REFINERY CLOSURES, REGULAR GASOLINE, RENEWABLE ENERGY, RESIDENTIAL CONSUMERS, RETAIL, RETAIL PRICE, RETAIL PRICES, ROAD, ROAD TRANSPORT, SAFETY, SALE, SALES, SOLAR WATER HEATERS, SOYBEAN OIL, SPOT PRICES, SPREAD, STABLE PRICES, STREET LIGHTING, STREETS, SUBSTITUTE, SUGAR CANE, SUGARCANE, SUGARCANE CULTIVATION, SUPPLIERS, SUPPLY CHAIN, SUPPLY COSTS, SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, TAX, TAX REVENUES, TIRES, TRANSIT, TRANSPORT, TRANSPORT SYSTEM, TRANSPORT SYSTEM EFFICIENCY, TRANSPORTATION, TRANSPORTATION COSTS, TRANSPORTATION FUELS, TRAVEL MODES, TRUCKS, TRUE, URBAN TRANSPORT, UTILITIES, UTILITY COMPANY, VEHICLE, VEHICLE DRIVERS, VEHICLE FUEL, VEHICLE FUEL ECONOMY, VEHICLE POPULATION, VEHICLES, WHOLESALE PRICE, WHOLESALE PRICES, WIND, WORLD MARKET, WORLD OIL PRICES,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/04/17513782/petroleum-product-pricing-complementary-policies-experience-65-developing-countries-2009 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13201
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