Presentation Older Workers Seminar Belguim, 25 Oct

1
A Stocktaking of OECD Work on Subsidies
Outi Honkatukia OECD Secretariat
2
Background

• OECD countries committed to reducing subsidies...
• yet only modest progress over the years
• ? OECD Ministerial mandate 2001

3
OECD work on obstacles to policy reform

• Take stock of the ongoing work on subsidies
• Identify environmentally harmful subsidies
• Analyse experiences in subsidy reform
• Develop policy recommendations

4
Caveats

• Different methodologies
• Data gaps
• Different countries
• Different years

5
Keep the caveats in mind when looking at the big
picture
Billion USD
6
Support to agriculture is high...

• but it is also the sector with the most
  complete data
• 311 billion USD in 2001
• 1.3 of GDP 31 of the value of farm receipts

7
Modest change in the level of supportPSE
8
and in the composition of support.
9
Other sectors pale in comparison
1) Transport USD 40 billion in road and rail
subsidies in Europe 2) Energy producers USD
20-30 billion, of which USD 5 billion for
coal 3) Manufacturing USD 22 billion in the
EU 4) Fisheries USD 6 billion
10
Support to coal production has decreased over
time...
11
but not if we look at support per tonne of coal
produced
12
What other data sources are there?
1) System of National Accounts 2) WTO Agreement
on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures 3) EU
State Aid Survey 4) National sources (e.g.
Productivity Commission)
13
To conclude
1) Progress made in the measurement and analysis
of subsidies 2) Significant gaps remain 3)
Stocktaking exercise important for setting
priorities and advancing the debate