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Is the elimination of food subsidies the right policy to address Lebanon’s public finance crisis?

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  • Makdissi, Paul
  • Seif Edine, Mohamad

Abstract

In this paper, we use a positional dominance approach to assess the desirability of eliminating food subsidies in Lebanon. The analysis is based on aggregate information from the 2004/2005 National Survey of Households Living Conditions. We use this aggregate information on expenditure patterns to reconstruct rough estimates of s-concentration curves and efficiency-cost ratio sets. Evidences suggest that the Lebanese government should probably find other avenues to reduce the fiscal deficit.

Suggested Citation

  • Makdissi, Paul & Seif Edine, Mohamad, 2020. "Is the elimination of food subsidies the right policy to address Lebanon’s public finance crisis?," MPRA Paper 99070, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:99070
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Duclos, Jean-Yves & Makdissi, Paul & Araar, Abdelkrim, 2009. "Pro-Poor Tax Reforms, with an Application to Mexico," IZA Discussion Papers 4511, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Chateauneuf, Alain & Gajdos, Thibault & Wilthien, Pierre-Henry, 2002. "The Principle of Strong Diminishing Transfer," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 103(2), pages 311-333, April.
    3. Jean-Yves Duclos & Paul Makdissi & Quentin Wodon, 2008. "Socially Improving Tax Reforms," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1505-1537, November.
    4. Yitzhaki, Shlomo & Slemrod, Joel, 1991. "Welfare Dominance: An Application to Commodity Taxation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(3), pages 480-496, June.
    5. Lydia Assouad, 2019. "Rethinking the Lebanese economic miracle: The extreme concentration of income and wealth in Lebanon," PSE Working Papers halshs-02160275, HAL.
    6. Lydia Assouad, 2019. "Rethinking the Lebanese economic miracle: The extreme concentration of income and wealth in Lebanon," Working Papers halshs-02160275, HAL.
    7. Paul Makdissi & Stéphane Mussard, 2008. "Analyzing the impact of indirect tax reforms on rank-dependent social welfare functions: a positional dominance approach," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 30(3), pages 385-399, April.
    8. Nisreen Salti & Jad Chaaban, 2010. "On The Poverty And Equity Implications Of A Rise In The Value Added Tax: A Microeconomic Simulation For Lebanon," Middle East Development Journal (MEDJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 2(01), pages 121-138.
    9. Nisreen Salti & Jad Chaaban, 2010. "On the Poverty and Equity Implications of a Rise in the Value Added Tax," Middle East Development Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(1), pages 121-138, January.
    10. Marc F. Bellemare, 2015. "Rising Food Prices, Food Price Volatility, and Social Unrest," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 97(1), pages 1-21.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Taxation; inequality; Lebanon;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being

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