Econ Papers Daily / 期刊论文
煤炭补贴与长期合同定价：基于要素市场化改革的视角
Coal subsidies and long-term contract pricing: a perspective from factor marketization reforms
摘要
Coal remains China's primary energy source and a fundamental commodity closely tied to economic stability and people's livelihoods. Reforming long-term contract pricing is therefore crucial for safeguarding energy security and supporting sustainable economic and social development. This study quantitatively examines how price subsidies in the coal market affect the allocation of input factors in production mines, with particular attention to nonlinear effects. With the objective of correcting factor market distortions in production mines, the study designs a reform of coal price subsidies and proposes a market-based range for long-term contract pricing. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) Reducing coal price subsidies helps mines optimize input factor allocation, improve production efficiency, and strengthen the foundation of energy security. (2) The effect of coal price subsidies on factor allocation efficiency in mines is nonlinear. It first declines and then rises as the mine period expense transfer rate increases, whereas it decreases as the cost–output value ratio rises. This pattern indicates a shift in input factor allocation from self-regulation toward stronger influence by non-market mechanisms. Moreover, as production costs increase, the distorting effect on resource allocation weakens because incentives for capacity expansion become limited. (3) The study identifies an estimated pricing interval based on the sample mines between 527.153 yuan/ton and 621.820 yuan/ton. From a policy perspective, the results suggest that the government should recognize the coal industry's role as a cornerstone of China's energy security and ensure that coal price subsidy design is closely aligned with the cost curves of actual mine production.
中文摘要
煤炭仍是中国的主要能源来源，也是与经济稳定和民生密切相关的根本性大宗商品。因此，改革长期合同定价对于保障能源安全、支撑经济社会可持续发展至关重要。本研究定量考察煤炭市场价格补贴如何影响生产矿井的投入要素配置，尤其关注非线性效应。研究以纠正生产矿井要素市场扭曲为目标，设计了煤炭价格补贴改革方案，并提出长期合同定价的市场化区间。主要结论如下：（1）降低煤炭价格补贴有助于矿井优化投入要素配置、提高生产效率并夯实能源安全基础。（2）煤炭价格补贴对矿井要素配置效率的影响呈非线性。随着矿井期间费用转移率上升，该效应先下降后上升；而随着成本产值率上升，该效应下降。这一模式表明投入要素配置由自我调节转向受非市场机制更强影响。此外，随着生产成本上升，对资源配置的扭曲效应减弱，因为产能扩张的激励变得有限。（3）研究基于样本矿井识别出估计定价区间为527.153元/吨至621.820元/吨。从政策角度看，结果表明政府应认识到煤炭行业作为中国能源安全基石的作用，并确保煤炭价格补贴设计与实际矿井生产的成本曲线紧密契合。