Are Low Food Prices Pro-Poor? Net Food Buyers and Sellers in Low-Income Countries

Aksoy, M. Ataman; Isik-Dikmelik, Aylin

Are Low Food Prices Pro-Poor? Net Food Buyers and Sellers in Low-Income Countries

2008

Aksoy, M. Ataman | Isik-Dikmelik, Aylin

There is a general consensus that most of the poor in developing countries are net food buyers and food price increases are bad for the poor. This could be expected of urban poor, but it is also often attributed to the rural poor. Recent food price increases have increased the importance of this issue, and the possible policy responses to these price increases. This paper examines the characteristics of net food sellers and buyers in nine low-income countries. Although the largest share of poor households are found to be net food buyers, almost 50 percent of net food buyers are marginal net food buyers who would not be significantly affected by food price increases. Only three of the nine countries examined exhibited a substantial proportion of vulnerable households. The average incomes (as measured by expenditure) of net food buyers were found to be higher than net food sellers in eight of the nine countries examined. Thus, food price increases, ceteris paribus, would transfer income from generally higher income net food buyers to poorer net food sellers. The analysis also finds that the occupations and income sources of net sellers and buyers in rural areas are significantly different. In rural areas where food production is the main activity and where there are limited non-food activities, the incomes of net buyers might depend on the incomes and farming activities of net food sellers. These results suggest the need for reevaluation of the consensus on the impact of food prices on food needs. Further work on the regional differences, and more important, on the second order effects, are necessary to answer these questions more precisely. Only on the basis of further analysis can we start generating better policy responses.

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Mots clés AGROVOC

agricultural economics agricultural inputs agricultural policies agricultural production agricultural productivity agricultural sector agriculture cash crops commodities consumers dates developing countries development research economic activities economic development economic growth farmers food aid food consumption food crops food intake food prices food production food products food security food surplus foods household consumption household income household surveys housing income income distribution living standards maize marketing poverty alleviation poverty reduction questionnaire rice rural areas rural development rural poor rural poverty small farmers spices staple foods subsistence urban areas urban population wheat

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Editeur

World Bank, Washington, DC

D'autres materias

Policy research; Low income; Commodity; Food surpluses; Food crop production; Agricultural sectors; Food crop; Data sets; Income levels; Real incomes; Political economy; Livestock income; Consumer goods; Rural sector; Consumer price index; Labor market; Rural incomes; Relative prices; Farm productivity; Food aid programs; Household expenditures; Rural community; Household incomes; Low-income; Rural; Labor force; Crop yields; Poor households; Economic activity; Buyer; Food needs; Poorer households; Agricultural activities; Agricultural policy; Policy implications; Beneficiaries; Income level; Welfare monitoring; Household welfare; Poverty measures; Per capita incomes; Poor household; Food policy; Groundnut; Consumption basket; Lower incomes; Agricultural wage; Farm incomes; Poor groups; Poor; Household head; Price changes; Living standards survey; Agricultural incomes; Food buyers; Farming activities; Food sales; Agricultural product; Economic review; Agricultural activity; Targeted transfers; Poverty assessment; Poverty index; Urban households; Income source; Cash crop income; Farm activity; Low incomes; Higher incidence of poverty; Development issues; Food items; Research assistance; Poor countries; Rural populations; Purchases; Food staples; Vulnerable households; Empirical question; Per capita consumption; Poverty impact; Food expenditures; Food basket; Household survey; Farm activities; Food price; Food producers; Food output; Latin american; Agricultural producers; Income from cash crops; Expenditure data; Labor markets; Land holdings; Household composition; Agricultural wages; Income sources; Sources of income; Agricultural productivity growth; Income on food; Poor rural household; Rural economy; Average incomes; Urban populations; Regional differences; Household characteristics; Consumer; Rural households

Licence

Policy Research Working Paper No. 4642http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/World BankCC BY 3.0 Unported

Source

Policy Research Working Paper No. 4642

Sur AGRIS depuis: 2014-09-15

Format: AGRIS AP

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http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6660

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Are Low Food Prices Pro-Poor? Net Food Buyers and Sellers in Low-Income Countries

2008

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