[sustran] poverty alleviation and basic mobility

[John Brooks]

In article <v01540b05afb0200716ae@[134.115.112.18]>, Paul Barter
<barter at central.murdoch.edu.au> writes
>There have been some interesting postings on this issue of poverty
>alleviation and transport
..
> The report mentions the ongoing controversy in India over
>proposals to raise the prices of petroleum products. 
..
> However most of the parties on the left are vehemently opposing
>the price rises. Their argument is that the "poor have to be spared any
>further financial burden".  This kind of issue has also arisen recently in
>a number of other countries that I know of, for example the Philippines,
>Indonesia, Nigeria, Venezuela, etc.
and will arise EVERYWHERE eventually..
>
>Is subsidised fuel in low income countries good or bad for social equity?
if you mean 'equalisation' (ie. helping low-income families get richer)
presumably bad, judging by observed results in most countries inc.
India.  The poor by-and-large remain poor.  If you really mean 'equity'
- to put it bluntly - who cares?  Surely the important issue is whether
ANY subsidy of any essential commodity can be justified.  If a country
or region cannot support its own population with essential
infrastructure and services, then subsidies will tend to make a bad
situation worse. Additional public transport (to assist short-range
'economic migration'?) or local fuel subsidies are unlikely to help.
>
>It seems sad that much of the money which is spent on subsidising fuel with
>the aim of helping the very poor may actually be going into subsidising the
>rich to drive their private vehicles greater and greater distances? Is this
>an accurate comment or am I mistaken??
quite possibly accurate... subsidies will ALWAYS be a 'blunt instrument'
as well as ineffective long-term.
>
>Is the argument that inflation will be triggered by fuel price rises (and
>thus further hurt the poor) a valid argument?
how could it be otherwise?
>
>Have any countries successfully raised fuel prices but at the same time
>protected the poor from the impacts of the change??
a very short list...

And the northern hemisphere / 'developed' world must stop pillaging the
southern / 'undeveloped' one.

To return the discussion to issues relating to transport...

Simply building more roads and more (private) cars can be shown to work
against sustainability - in UK, there are many examples of roads which
have generated extra traffic (especially commuters to work) simply by
being constructed.  Surely the southern hemisphere is smart enough not
to copy our errors.

-- 
John Brooks  - Technical Consultant, Energy, Network Systems and Data Comms
South Croydon, 7CR2 7HN, UK Tel: (44) 181 681 1595 Fax: (44) 181 649 7536
The opinions expressed here are mine but are not offered as professional advice.