Energy Subsidy Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa: Experiences and Lessons

The reform of energy subsidies is an important but challenging issue for sub-Saharan African countries. There is a relatively large theoretical and empirical literature on this issue. While this paper relies on that literature, it tailors its discussion to these countries to respond to the following questions: Why it is important to reduce energy subsidies? What are the difficulties involved in energy subsidy reform? How best can a subsidy reform be implemented? The authors use various sources of information on sub-Saharan African countries, including quantitative assessments, surveys and individual (but standardized) case studies.