Research Library

Fossil fuel subsidies have allowed energy exporting countries to distribute resource revenue, bolstering legitimacy for governments, many of which are not democratically elected. But subsidy benefits are dwarfed by the harmful consequences of encouraging uneconomic use of energy. Now, with consumption posing a threat to long-term exports, governments face a heightened need to raise prices that have come to be viewed as entitlements. While reforms of state benefits are notoriously politically dangerous, previous experience shows that subsidies can be rolled back without undermining government legitimacy — even in autocratic settings — given proper preparation.

A speaker series addressing a variety of important topics related to Latin America.

A collaboration uniting the resources and expertise of Rice University's Baker Institute and the Organization of American States.

Venezuela is a textbook example of a resource-dependent country. Nevertheless, Venezuela currently combines an economy that is stagnant, despite high oil prices, with an increasingly authoritarian government.

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When U.S. President Barack Obama addressed the…

With a favorable market and nearly inexhaustible resource base, Venezuela has a historic opportunity to boost its oil industry. However, the industry faces serious policy hurdles, and the potential of this investment is likely to be wasted.

Experts from the Baker Institute Center for Energy Studies examines issues in global energy.

Latin America recently experienced a new wave of nationalization in the hydrocarbon sector with tax increases and the participation and control of the state. There is considerable variation in the specific policies that Latin American countries implemented, however.