AGI Seminar (Online, August 25, 2026): “Optimal Subsidy Targeting with Pigouvian, Ramsey, and Equity Objectives”

We invite researchers engaged in studies on Asia to present at our AGI Seminars. We look forward to your participation!

* This online seminar is free to attend, and the details are as follows:

Date and Time

Tuesday, August 25, 2026 at 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm (JST)
*A question-and-answer session is scheduled after the presentation.

Presenter

Takahiko Kiso, Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor), Department of Economics, Business School, University of Aberdeen, UK 

Title

Optimal Subsidy Targeting with Pigouvian, Ramsey, and Equity Objectives

Abstract

This paper develops a normative framework for designing corrective subsidy programs in a second-best setting in which policymakers pursue externality correction under a program budget constraint while also considering equitable redistribution, and in which subsidy eligibility and levels may vary across recipient classes defined by observable, difficult-to-manipulate characteristics, such as income. We characterize optimal targeting at both the extensive and intensive margins and decompose the subsidy for each eligible class into three components—Pigouvian (externality correction), Ramsey (cost-effectiveness), and equity—whose relative importance is governed by the shadow value of the program budget. We show how the optimal design varies with class-specific subsidy responsiveness, policymakers’ distributional preferences, positive externalities, program budget size, and production costs. The core decomposition carries over to an extension featuring product differentiation and imperfect competition. 

Language

English presentation and material(s)

Presenter Biography

Takahiko Kiso is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Economics at the University of Aberdeen Business School. His primary research interests are in environmental, energy, and public economics. He holds a PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park; an MSc in Applied Mathematics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; and both an MA and a BA in Economics from the University of Tokyo. His research has been published in peer-reviewed academic journals, such as The Economic Journal and the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.

Discussant

Shinsuke Uchida
Professor, Faculty of Policy Studies, Doshisha University; and Visiting Professor, AGI

To Participate

1. Online Registration
https://forms.gle/C63pGEWS6fcdhSci7

2. E-mail Registration
Please send an e-mail to office@agi.or.jp with your name, affiliation and phone number.

We will send you a Zoom link for participation via e-mail by the business day before the seminar.

Registration Deadline

Monday, August 24 at 1:00 pm (JST)

How to Participate Online

date：2026.08.06
Category：Seminars