Editorial

Carlos Andrés Vasco-Correa ()
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Carlos Andrés Vasco-Correa: Universidad de Antioquia

Lecturas de Economía, 2025, issue 103, 7-12

Abstract: This editorial analyzes the collapse of the natural gas subsidy scheme in Colombia, whose fiscal burden grew by 642% between 2005 and 2024. The crisis rests on two pillars: the financial one, aggravated by costly gas imports , and the deep social inequity of its design. The current stratification system is anachronistic and creates "inclusion errors," as about 81% of subsidies benefit non-poor households. Although transitioning to a direct targeting model via Sisbén is an urgent solution proposed in the National Development Plan , the author argues it is an intermediate step. The strategic debate should focus on a deeper transformation: a residential energy transition that replaces fossil fuels with clean technologies , aiming for a policy that is fiscally sustainable and socially just.

Keywords: Subsidies; Natural Gas; Energy Policy; Subsidy Targeting; Energy Transition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H21 Q41 Q48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:lde:journl:y:2025:i:103:p:7-12

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DOI: 10.17533/udea.le.n103a361260

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