2025/10/01 by Mohammadali Mokhtari, Hamed Ghoddusi · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Agricultural risk and resilience #Economic Sanctions and International Relations #Income, Poverty, and Inequality
paper · doi:10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103240
openalex publication_date 2025/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/08
Recent estimates suggest that eliminating fossil fuel subsidies could prevent 1.6 million premature deaths annually by reducing air pollution, while also addressing the unequal distribution of resources. How unequal are the benefits of these subsidies? Using Iranian household expenditure data (1984–2019) covering three major subsidy reforms, this study estimates the inequality-reducing impact of replacing fuel subsidies with direct, universal, and unconditional cash transfers. Our robust estimates show that reallocating USD 1 per capita per day from fuel subsidies to direct cash transfers reduces the Gini coefficient of expenditure by 8 %. These findings underscore the redistributive potential of such reforms and their role in fostering more equitable and sustainable policy design.