The World Food Economy

by Douglas D. Southgate (Ohio State University, USA ); Douglas H. Graham (Ohio State University, USA ); Luther G. Tweeten (Ohio State University, USA )

• ISBN13: 9781405105972
• ISBN10: 1405105976
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-11-01
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

The questions of population growth and food supply have long been of central concern to economists. The World Food Economy seeks to examine the lessons of the past for wealthy nations, where agricultural output has steadily risen for decades, as well as for developing nations where the advances of the "Green Revolution" in the 1960s have introduced new problems in addition to solutions. This text assesses the challenge of satisfying food demand during the twenty-first century as consumers and producers in every part of the world-rich and poor alike-feel the effects of expanded global commodity trade, food aid, and national legislation in response to globalization. Examines increases in agricultural output and productivity in both the developed and developing worlds Analyzes the centrality of agricultural development to general economic progress and explores cases where governments attempt to foster economic expansion while neglecting food production Assesses the challenge of satisfying food demand during the twenty-first century, given the effects of globalization on international trade and national legislation.

Author Biography

Douglas Southgate is Professor of Natural Resource Economics in the Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics Department at Ohio State University. A natural resource economist by training, his previous books include Economic Progress and the Environment and Tropical Forest Conservation.

Douglas H. Graham is Professor Emeritus of Rural Finance in the Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics Department at Ohio State University.

Luther Tweeten is Emeritus Anderson Professor of Agricultural Marketing, Trade, and Policy in the Agriculture, Environmental, and Development Economics Department at Ohio State University. He is the author or co-author of over 500 journal articles and seven books, including Foundations of Farm Policy and Agricultural Trade: Principles and Policies.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xii
Introduction	1	(9)
Our Focus	4	(3)
Chapter Outline	7	(3)
Study Questions	9	(1)
The Demand Side: How Population Growth and Higher Incomes Affect Food Consumption	10	(31)
Classic Malthusianism, Its Modern Variants, and Its Critiques	11	(5)
Demographic Transition	16	(9)
Trends in Human Numbers, Past and Present	25	(3)
Food Consumption and Income	28	(3)
Demand Trends and Projections	31	(2)
Summary and Conclusions	33	(8)
Study Questions	34	(1)
Appendix: The Fundamental Economics of Demand	34	(7)
The Supply Side: Agricultural Production and Its Determinants	41	(33)
The Nature of Agriculture	42	(7)
Increases in Agricultural Supply	49	(13)
Has Intensification Run Its Course?	62	(4)
Trends in Per-Capita Production	66	(8)
Study Questions	67	(1)
Appendix: The Fundamental Economics of Supply	68	(6)
Aligning the Consumption and Production of Food Over Time	74	(24)
The Desirability of Competitive Equilibrium	76	(2)
The Market Impacts of Commodity Programs	78	(5)
Historical Trends in the Scarcity of Agricultural Products	83	(3)
Outlook for the Twenty-First Century	86	(12)
Study Questions	89	(1)
Appendix: The Coordination of Decentralized Decision-Making	89	(9)
Agriculture and the Environment	98	(26)
Environmental Trade-Offs	99	(3)
Market Failure	102	(7)
Environmental Deterioration in the Absence of Agricultural Intensification	109	(10)
Agricultural Development and the Environment	119	(5)
Study Questions	123	(1)
Globalization and Agriculture	124	(23)
The Theory of Comparative Advantage	125	(3)
The Net Costs of Trade Distortions	128	(4)
The Debate Over Globalization	132	(3)
Agricultural Trade: Recent Trends and the Current Debate	135	(7)
Why Not More Trade?	142	(5)
Study Questions	143	(1)
Appendix: A Two-Country Illustration of Comparative Advantage	143	(4)
Agriculture and Economic Development	147	(19)
Growth and Economic Structure	148	(7)
Agriculture's Role in Economic Development	155	(3)
Trying to Develop at Agriculture's Expense	158	(3)
Agricultural Development for the Sake of Economic Growth and Diversification	161	(3)
Summary and Conclusions	164	(2)
Study Questions	165	(1)
Striving for Food Security	166	(21)
What is Food Security?	166	(1)
Who and Where Are the Food Insecure?	167	(3)
Achieving Food Security	170	(6)
The Food Security Synthesis and Economic Development	176	(7)
The Standard Model, Communitarian Values, and Economic Equity	183	(4)
Study Questions	185	(2)
A Synopsis of Regional Trends in the Global Food Economy	187	(19)
Economic Growth and Income Distribution	187	(4)
Population Dynamics	191	(7)
Agriculture's Response to Demand Growth	198	(4)
Summary	202	(4)
Study Questions	205	(1)
Affluent Nations	206	(22)
Standards of Living	207	(3)
Population Dynamics	210	(2)
The Food Economy	212	(8)
Dietary Change and Consumption Trends	220	(5)
Summary	225	(3)
Study Questions	227	(1)
Asia	228	(22)
Trends in GDP Per Capita	228	(5)
Population Dynamics	233	(4)
Agricultural Development	237	(5)
Dietary Change, Consumption Trends, and Food Security	242	(6)
Summary	248	(2)
Study Questions	248	(2)
Latin America and the Caribbean	250	(23)
Trends in GDP Per Capita	251	(3)
Population Dynamics	254	(4)
Agricultural Development	258	(7)
Dietary Change, Consumption Trends, and Food Security	265	(7)
Summary	272	(1)
Study Questions	272	(1)
The Middle East and North Africa	273	(22)
Trends in GDP Per Capita	274	(4)
Population Dynamics	278	(3)
Agricultural Development	281	(7)
Dietary Change, Consumption Trends, and Food Security	288	(5)
Summary	293	(2)
Study Questions	294	(1)
Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union	295	(26)
Patterns of Economic Growth since the Fall of Communism	296	(6)
Demographic Trends	302	(4)
The Agricultural Sector	306	(7)
Dietary Change, Consumption Trends, and Food Security	313	(5)
Summary	318	(3)
Study Questions	319	(2)
Sub-Saharan Africa	321	(36)
Trends in GDP Per Capita	324	(5)
Demographic Trends	329	(8)
Agricultural Development	337	(8)
Consumption Trends and Food Security	345	(9)
Summary	354	(3)
Study Questions	355	(2)
The Global Food Economy in the Twenty-First Century	357	(13)
Victims of Our Own Success?	360	(4)
The New Food Economy	364	(2)
The Changing Role of Government	366	(4)
Study Questions	369	(1)
Abbreviations and Acronyms	370	(2)
Map Annex	372	(6)
References	378	(12)
Index	390