Relationship between distortionary agricultural trade policies and food security in developing countries: a causal analysis
In an increasingly globalised world, agricultural trade and food security inevitably goes hand in hand. On paper, the idea of free agricultural trade continues to be a contentious one as opinions remain divided whether it can lead to greater access and variability of food to a larger number of pe...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Global Academic Excellence
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/64601/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/64601/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/64601/1/64601_Relationship%20between%20distortionary.pdf |
| Summary: | In an increasingly globalised world, agricultural trade and food security inevitably
goes hand in hand. On paper, the idea of free agricultural trade continues to be a contentious
one as opinions remain divided whether it can lead to greater access and variability of food to
a larger number of people or whether it ends up exacerbating hunger and environmental
degradation in the developing world by reinforcing pre-existing inequities in the global trading
system. In practice, countries tend to intervene in food trade to protect domestic producers
from volatilities in international markets, as most obviously seen in 2007-2008. Empirical
evidence is mixed regarding the impact distortionary agricultural trade policies have on food
security, particularly for developing countries. This study examines the issue using long panel
data from 24 developing countries from 1990-2010. The Generalised Propensity Score (GPS)
method, a non-parametric matching technique with continuous treatment, is used to assess the
effect of Nominal Rates of Assistance (NRA) on the four dimensions of food security; food
access, food availability, food utilization and food stability. While it is found that the
relationships can be statistically proven, the numbers point to a positive link between
distortionary trade policies and food security levels for the majority of these countries.
Nonetheless, prolonged and widespread price insulations will ultimately push up global prices,
offsetting their domestic food security benefits and distract or slow down the much-needed
structural improvements in the country’s agricultural sector. |
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