Food insecurity and the foreign exchange constraint in developing countries: The case of Sub-Saharan Africa
1985
Diakosavvas, D. (Manchester Univ. (UK)) | Kirkpatrick, C.
Short term instability in food supply continues to be a serious problem for many less developed countries (LDCs). The present paper argues that fluctuations in per capita food consumption are related directly to the difficulties which these countries face in financing the level of food imports needed to protect consumption levels against shortfalls in domestic production and increases in the price of food imports. Using a sample of food-importing Sub-Sahara LDCs covering the period 1966-76, evidence is presented of an inverse relationship between variations in annual cereals consumption per capita and changes in foreign exchange availability. The paper also considers the role that the international community might play in assisting low income countries to finance their short term food import needs
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