A Profile of Border Protection in Egypt : An Effective Rate of Protection Approach Adjusting for Energy Subsidies

Valdes, Alberto ; Foster, William

关键词: AGRICULTURE;    ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES;    ANIMAL PRODUCTS;    APPROACH;    AUTOMOBILE;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-5685
RP-ID  :  WPS5685

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This study examines recent effectiverates of protection across the Egyptian economy, using an advalorem price wedge introduced by nontariff barriers andenergy subsidies, and compares today's effective ratesof protection with those of a decade ago. The study uses 23aggregated sectors from input-output matrix information.Although trade liberalization since the late-1990s has had aconsiderable impact in reducing protection of someindustries, some sectors, such as the food and tobaccosector, remain relatively highly protected, due to tariffescalation and nontariff barriers, and due to energysubsidies. Energy subsidies are not formally sector specificbut do favor sectors that are energy intensive (ofparticular note is the electricity sector).It appears thatenergy pricing is part of a strategy to subsidize andpromote certain industries and in effect offset thedis-protection or taxation that results from tariffs onintermediate inputs. The case of the cement sector isnotable because energy subsidies appear to almost exactlyoffset the negative impacts of tariffs and indirect taxes.The fertilizer sector has zero nominal tariffs, benefitingagriculture, and so a negative effective rate of protectiondue simply to tariffs on intermediate inputs. However, thefertilizer sector ends up with a very high a positive totaleffective rate of protection due to energy subsidies.