Unpacking the political economy of fertilizer subsidy reforms

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dc.creatorChugh, Aditi
dc.creatorResnick, Danielle
dc.date2025-12-31
dc.date2026-01-21T17:33:56Z
dc.date2026-01-21T17:33:56Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T15:01:09Z
dc.descriptionGlobal calls to repurpose agricultural support toward more sustainable and equitable food systems have intensified scrutiny of fertilizer subsidies. While political economy constraints often hinder reform, the exact manifestation of these constraints is rarely examined. To clarify the specific mechanisms at play, this paper systematically reviews peer-reviewed studies from 2000 to 2025 and identifies 38 fertilizer subsidy reform cases across 15 countries. We code political economy factors influencing outcomes at different stages of subsidy adoption and redesign. The analysis shows that ideational factors around self-sufficiency, the private sector, and the social contract, as well as the institutional structures impacting policymaking, are central to successful subsidy introduction. Electoral incentives play a role at both the policy introduction and redesign phases. Yet, political economy factors are not the only prominent drivers. In fact, technocratic considerations about underperformance or corruption became more prominent during redesign efforts but were also present in more than 80 percent of failed cases. This reaffirms that while technocratic factors, including the availability of research and evidence are necessary for subsidy design improvements, they are not sufficient on their own. By distinguishing which political economy factors matter and how they interact with broader policy process dynamics, this study provides a more actionable foundation for anticipating and managing challenges to fertilizer subsidy reforms and repurposing more broadly.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/180322
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/92215
dc.languageen
dc.publisherInternational Food Policy Research Institute
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/140114
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/147858
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/146275
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/148618
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceChugh, Aditi; and Resnick, Danielle. 2025. Unpacking the political economy of fertilizer subsidy reforms. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2397. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180322
dc.subjectfertilizers
dc.subjectsubsidies
dc.subjectreforms
dc.subjectpolicies
dc.subjectpolitical ecology
dc.titleUnpacking the political economy of fertilizer subsidy reforms
dc.typeWorking Paper

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Instituto Internacional de Investigación sobre Políticas Alimentarias (IFPRI)