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A Subsidy That is Inversely Related to the Product Price

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  • Takahiko Kiso

Abstract

This study considers a new subsidy design to support the purchase or production of target products. Under the proposed design, subsidy payments are inversely related to product prices. Compared to ‘flat’ subsidies, this design reduces producers’ market power and the subsidy benefits passed on to them, improving the cost-effectiveness of government spending (by up to 50% according to simulations based on an actual subsidy programme). Additionally, this subsidy’s cost-effectiveness and incidence can be adjusted flexibly by changing the policy parameters. Finally, the subsidy design can be modified to provide larger payments to higher-quality products, thereby offsetting disincentives for quality improvement.

Suggested Citation

  • Takahiko Kiso, 2022. "A Subsidy That is Inversely Related to the Product Price," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(646), pages 2173-2206.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:econjl:v:132:y:2022:i:646:p:2173-2206.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ej/ueac002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Markus Dertwinkel-Kalt & Christian Wey, 2025. "Comparing the Effects of Subsidies on Target Goods," CESifo Working Paper Series 12010, CESifo.

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