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GSI publishes high-quality research including reports, articles, infographics, policy briefs, technical manuals, videos and more.

Explore our resources that focus on subsidies and sustainable development.

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Commentary: A new role for the Permanent Group of Experts on Subsidies?

The World Trade Organization's rotating group of five independent subsidy experts - the so-called Permanent Group of Experts (PGE) - is unique. It cannot, however, be considered a roaring success. This obscure group of trade lawyers and academics, "highly qualified in the field of subsidies and trade relations," has no counterpart at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

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Commentary: Focus on Energy Subsidies

We know subsidies to the energy sector are large. The question is how large? Energy subsidies are inherently difficult to quantify; a challenge that is made harder by the reluctance of many governments to act transparently.

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Studies: Readings November 2006

Open Budget Initiative Nine in 10 countries surveyed by the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) fail to provide adequate information on their budgets needed to keep governments accountable to their citizens. The CBPP's International Budget Project surveyed some 59 countries to assess the availability and quality of their budget documents.

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Commentary: Subsidies to biofuels: checking the bait

People invariably ask, given we have only recently started in this business, why did we choose to work on biofuels? In deciding research priorities we have several criteria. One is that we would not try to duplicate the work of others. Another is that when we look into subsidies to a particular sector, the sector should be one that is subsidized by many countries.

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Commentary: An Introduction to Energy Subsidies

The recent surge in international energy prices has placed energy subsidies at the forefront of the economic policy agenda in many countries, particularly where government interventions are intended to keep prices low to households and industry, or to protect indigenous energy industries from foreign competition.

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Studies: Readings October 2006

A searchable database that tracks federal spending by the United States government will come on-line by 2008, following legislation passed in September. The Web-based search engine, which will include all federal funding to public and private organizations, has been hailed as a victory for transparency in government operations by a broad coalition of advocacy groups.

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An Introduction to Service Subsidies

The last round of World Trade Organization (WTO) trade talks, the Uruguay Round, broke new ground by broadening the scope of world trade rules to cover areas never before subject to multilateral disciplines, and the services sector was without doubt where such broadening was most significant in economic terms.

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Commentary: Transparency in Farm Subsidies: Is Sunlight the Best Disinfectant?

A healthy agricultural sector needs plenty of sunlight. To that, our guest commentators this month would add that it also requires a bright light on farm subsidies. Jack Thurston and Nils Mulvad, the founders of Farmsubsidy.org, are two people who have helped foster greater transparency in agricultural subsidies by pressuring governments in the European Union to publish data on payments and recipients of farm subsidies.

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Studies: Readings September 2006

If the United States cut ethanol tariffs and subsidies, prices would drop in the US as imports rise dramatically, according to a new report by Iowa State University's Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD).

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Alternative energy: beware the hidden costs

Asian governments are caught between an ever-increasing demand for cheap energy to fuel development and an unabating rise in global oil prices. A few South-east Asian governments are feeling the financial pain of costly fuel subsidies and are looking elsewhere for energy sources. The hunt for alternative energy sources has led Asian nations to explore biofuel technology, among others.

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