Subsidies can be described as a government benefit which can be in the form of cash payments, tax breaks and guaranteed or low-interest loans. They are typically designed to support a particular business or social or political objective. Subsidies could have negative effects and can impede other efficient public expenditures.
Substitutes can be viewed as reverse tax because they pay money to people or businesses to engage in a specific activity, rather than charging them for it (for example tax incentives, tax credits or free student loans). Governments often subsidize products or activities based on their economic and environmental benefits.
For instance, governments can help to finance the production of renewable energy by offering tax breaks to encourage its use, and forcing utilities to purchase it. Also, they could help with housing costs by giving people a loan or grant that covers a portion of myrrdin-inc.com/2020/03/10/what-digital-technologies-should-be-invested-in-2020/ the cost for renting or buying homes. This lets more people reside in an area that they might not be able to afford otherwise.
The objective of subsidy programs may differ but they are generally aimed at achieving a specific national strategic goal or gaining an advantage in international markets. In other cases, they are designed to compensate for the inherent weaknesses or structural weaknesses in a domestic economy. For instance, producer subsidies in agriculture can help support prices for farmers above the cost of imported food products. These types of subsidies can lead to a distortion of the market price and a misallocation or scarce resources.