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The devil lies in the definition : competing approaches to fossil fuel subsidies at the IMF and the OECD

Skovgaard, Jakob LU (2017) In International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics
Abstract

Fossil fuel subsidy reform has in recent years been addressed by international economic organizations including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The two organizations have differed significantly in how they define fossil fuel subsidies. The IMF’s definition constitutes a radical break with previous definitions by including environmental externalities, while the OECD’s is more conventional. The article explores the factors that explain why these international economic organizations have approached fossil fuel subsidies so differently. The exact definition of fossil fuel subsidies is contested. Furthermore, fossil fuels subsidies can be framed in ways that... (More)

Fossil fuel subsidy reform has in recent years been addressed by international economic organizations including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The two organizations have differed significantly in how they define fossil fuel subsidies. The IMF’s definition constitutes a radical break with previous definitions by including environmental externalities, while the OECD’s is more conventional. The article explores the factors that explain why these international economic organizations have approached fossil fuel subsidies so differently. The exact definition of fossil fuel subsidies is contested. Furthermore, fossil fuels subsidies can be framed in ways that emphasize, respectively, their macroeconomic, fiscal, environmental, and distributive consequences. The article finds that institutional interaction lifted OECD involvement in fossil fuel subsidies to a new level, whereas the impetus to address fossil fuel subsidies within the IMF came largely from the IMF staff. In both cases, the organization’s bureaucracy constituted the most important factor shaping how the organizations addressed such subsidies and hence the main reason why they differ in how they approach fossil fuel subsidies.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Bureaucratic politics, Fossil fuel subsidies, IMF, Institutional interaction, OECD, Subsidy reform
in
International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics
pages
13 pages
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:85016065967
  • wos:000403037100003
ISSN
1567-9764
DOI
10.1007/s10784-017-9355-z
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d627719c-66c0-4ec5-bfff-f197f112ca30
date added to LUP
2017-04-05 09:35:02
date last changed
2025-01-20 12:22:17
@article{d627719c-66c0-4ec5-bfff-f197f112ca30,
  abstract     = {{<p>Fossil fuel subsidy reform has in recent years been addressed by international economic organizations including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The two organizations have differed significantly in how they define fossil fuel subsidies. The IMF’s definition constitutes a radical break with previous definitions by including environmental externalities, while the OECD’s is more conventional. The article explores the factors that explain why these international economic organizations have approached fossil fuel subsidies so differently. The exact definition of fossil fuel subsidies is contested. Furthermore, fossil fuels subsidies can be framed in ways that emphasize, respectively, their macroeconomic, fiscal, environmental, and distributive consequences. The article finds that institutional interaction lifted OECD involvement in fossil fuel subsidies to a new level, whereas the impetus to address fossil fuel subsidies within the IMF came largely from the IMF staff. In both cases, the organization’s bureaucracy constituted the most important factor shaping how the organizations addressed such subsidies and hence the main reason why they differ in how they approach fossil fuel subsidies.</p>}},
  author       = {{Skovgaard, Jakob}},
  issn         = {{1567-9764}},
  keywords     = {{Bureaucratic politics; Fossil fuel subsidies; IMF; Institutional interaction; OECD; Subsidy reform}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics}},
  title        = {{The devil lies in the definition : competing approaches to fossil fuel subsidies at the IMF and the OECD}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10784-017-9355-z}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s10784-017-9355-z}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}