Drawing a Roadmap for Oil Pricing Reform

In 2011, the median oil imports rose to 5 percent of gross domestic product for net importers. In the past several years, many governments have not passed through the world oil price increases to consumers fully. As a sign of divergent pricing policies, the retail prices of gasoline, diesel, and cooking gas in January 2013 varied by a factor of 190, 250, and 70, respectively, across developing countries. Policies to keep oil product prices low to benefit the economy and protect the poor have had a number of unintended negative consequences, including flourishing corruption in the oil sector and entrenchment of monopoly operators or inefficient firms through which subsidies are channeled, stifling competition and raising costs. The path to market-based pricing depends on the starting conditions: the gap between current and market-based price levels, the level of public awareness about the extent of departure from market prices, the degree of market concentration and competition in downstream oil, the subsidy delivery mechanism where subsidies are provided, the robustness of social service delivery, and the perceived credibility of the government. The evidence presented in this paper suggests that pricing reform often does not have a clear end and should instead be viewed as a continuous process of adjustment and search for mechanisms that take into account the country's institutions and political system, and the oil sector's market structure, infrastructure, and history.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Kojima, Masami
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2013-05
Subjects:	ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES, ADVERSE EFFECTS, AGRICULTURE, AIR POLLUTION, APPROACH, ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE, AVAILABILITY, AVERAGE PRICE, AVERAGE PRICES, BALANCE, BARRELS PER DAY, BASE YEAR, BASKET OF GOODS, BENCHMARK, BLACK MARKET, BLACK MARKETS, BURNING FUEL, CASH FLOW, COLLUSION, COMMERCIALIZATION, COMMODITIES, COMMODITY, COMMODITY PRICE, COMPETITIVE MARKET, COMPETITIVE MARKETS, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONSUMER PRICE, CONSUMER PRICE INDEX, CONSUMERS, CONTROLLED PRICES, CORPORATE TAX, COST REDUCTION, CRUDE OIL, CRUDE OIL PRICE, CURRENCY, CURRENCY APPRECIATION, CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE, DECISION MAKING, DELIVERY MECHANISM, DEREGULATION, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPING COUNTRY, DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, DIESEL, DIESEL FUEL, DIVIDENDS, DOMESTIC MARKET, DOMESTIC MARKETS, DOMESTIC OIL, DOMESTIC PRICE, DOMESTIC PRICES, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIES OF SCALE, EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT, ELASTICITY, ELASTICITY OF DEMAND, ELECTRICITY, ETHANOL, EXCESS PROFITS, EXCHANGE RATE, EXPENDITURE, EXPENDITURES, FAIR, FAIR TRADING, FEDERAL RESERVE, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK, FINANCIAL CONTRACT, FINANCIAL CRISIS, FOOD PRICES, FOSSIL, FOSSIL FUEL, FUEL, FUEL CONSUMPTION, FUEL OIL, FUEL PRICES, FUEL SUPPLY, FUEL SWITCHING, FUEL TYPE, FUELS, FUTURE PRICE, FUTURE PRICES, FUTURES, GAS, GASOLINE, GASOLINE PRICES, GDP, GDP PER CAPITA, GLOBAL MARKET, GLOBALIZATION, GOOD GOVERNANCE, GOVERNMENT BUDGET, GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION, GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS, GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT, GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, HYDROPOWER, HYDROPOWER GENERATION, INCOME, INCOME GROUPS, INCOME TAX, INEFFICIENCY, INFLATION, INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY, INSURANCE, INTERNATIONAL MARKET, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, KEROSENE, KEROSENE CONSUMPTION, LABOR MARKET, LIQUID FUELS, LOCAL CURRENCY, LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES, MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE, MARKET CONCENTRATION, MARKET CONDITIONS, MARKET DISTORTIONS, MARKET INCENTIVES, MARKET PRICES, MARKET STRUCTURE, MERIT GOOD, MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES, MONOPOLIES, MONOPOLY, NATURAL DISASTERS, NATURAL GAS, NATURAL GAS CONSUMPTION, NATURAL GAS PRICES, NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION, NATURAL MONOPOLIES, NET OIL, OIL, OIL COMPANIES, OIL COMPANY, OIL CONSUMPTION, OIL DEMAND, OIL EXPORTERS, OIL EXPORTS, OIL IMPORTS, OIL INDUSTRY, OIL MARKETS, OIL PRICE, OIL PRICES, OIL PRICING, OIL PRODUCERS, OIL PRODUCING, OIL PRODUCING COUNTRIES, OIL PRODUCTION, OIL PRODUCTS, OIL REFINING, OIL SUPPLY, OPPORTUNITY COST, OPPORTUNITY COSTS, OUTPUT, PERSONAL INFORMATION, PETROLEUM, PETROLEUM GAS, PETROLEUM INDUSTRY, POLITICAL ECONOMY, POLITICAL SYSTEM, POLLUTION, POVERTY ALLEVIATION, POWER, POWER GENERATION, POWER SECTOR, POWER SHORTAGES, PRICE ADJUSTMENTS, PRICE ADVANTAGE, PRICE BAND, PRICE BANDS, PRICE CEILINGS, PRICE CHANGE, PRICE CHANGES, PRICE COMPETITION, PRICE CONTROL, PRICE CONTROLS, PRICE DECREASES, PRICE EFFECT, PRICE INCREASE, PRICE INCREASES, PRICE LEVEL, PRICE LEVELS, PRICE MOVEMENTS, PRICE OF GASOLINE, PRICE OF OIL, PRICE REGULATION, PRICE RISKS, PRICE SPIKES, PRICE STABILITY, PRICE STABILIZATION, PRICE SUBSIDIES, PRICE SUBSIDY, PRICE TRENDS, PRICE VOLATILITY, PRICING MECHANISMS, PRICING POLICIES, PRICING POLICY, PRICING POLICY REFORM, PRICING REFORM, PROFIT MARGINS, PUBLIC UTILITIES, REFINED PRODUCTS, REGRESSION ANALYSIS, REGULAR GASOLINE, REMOTE AREAS, RETAIL, RETAIL PRICES, RETAILING, SAFETY NET, SAFETY NETS, SALE, SALES, SAVINGS, SINGLE MARKET, SMART CARD, SMART CARDS, SOCIAL PROTECTION, SOCIAL SAFETY NETS, SPOT PRICE, SPOT PRICES, STABLE PRICES, SUPPLIERS, SUPPLY CHAIN, SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, TARIFF STRUCTURE, TAX, TAX EXPENDITURES, TAX RATES, TAX REVENUE, TAXATION, TRACK RECORD, TRADITIONAL FUELS, TRANSACTION COST, TRANSPARENCY, UNEMPLOYMENT, VEHICLES, WAGES, WEALTH, WHOLESALE GASOLINE, WHOLESALE PRICES, WORLD MARKET,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/05/17733366/drawing-roadmap-oil-pricing-reform https://hdl.handle.net/10986/15590
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!