1 / 24

Policy Approaches to Undernutrition

Policy Approaches to Undernutrition. Text extracted from The World Food Problem Leathers and Foster, 2004. http://www.lastfirst.net/images/product/R004548.jpg. Ethics: Pope John Paul II. “Contrasts between poverty and wealth are intolerable for humanity”

aristotle-russell
Download Presentation

Policy Approaches to Undernutrition

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Policy Approaches to Undernutrition Text extracted from The World Food Problem Leathers and Foster, 2004 http://www.lastfirst.net/images/product/R004548.jpg

  2. Ethics: Pope John Paul II • “Contrasts between poverty and wealth are intolerable for humanity” • “It is the task of nations, their leaders, their economic powers and all people of goodwill • to seek every opportunity for a more equitable sharing of resources” • Example of Beneficence • Personal moral duty to help the poor http://schoolnet.gov.mt/liceovassalli/mav/MAV%20Zones/Students/Essays/Pope%20John%20Paul%20II.jpg

  3. Ethics: Right to Food? • Right to Food • Included in International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights • Adopted by UN • Signed by 85 countries • Now must address hunger issue • to protect fundamental rights of society • Don’t need to feel personal moral duty to help the poor United Nations http://orrinwoodward.blogharbor.com/United%20Nations%20Assembly.jpg

  4. Ethics: Right to Food? • Rights taken very seriously • Absolute entitlement • Non-negotiable • Would require government to act to prevent hunger • Conflict with property rights? Feeding orphans, Yemen http://www.yobserver.com/uploads/1/orphans5.jpg

  5. Economist’s Questions • What is the appropriate policy for society as a whole? • How can government best manipulate human greed to achieve its policy objectives? http://neweconomist.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/20061110_inside_the_economists_mind_cove.gif

  6. How to Move Society Forward Government Manipulate self-interest to achieve policy goals Economy Ideology Capitalism Self-interest

  7. Economics Policy Decisions • Every action has costs and benefits • Marginal costs and benefits • For 1% increase in cost, what is the increase in benefits? • Ideal decision: where marginal costs = marginal benefits • Free market will allocate resources optimally, but • Without concern for • Social costs • Environmental costs • Can everything be put in dollar terms? Three Gorges Dam, China http://www.thelightisgreen.com/China%20Three%20Gorges%20Dam%2001.jpg

  8. Externalities • Costs and benefits sometimes go to people outside the market transaction • Should wealthy benefit from costs borne • By the poor? • Exploitation = externality • By the environment? • Exploitation = externality • To feed hungry has indirect benefit to wealthy • We feel better = externality • No market for this http://wheresmyamerica.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/smoke-stack1.jpg

  9. Every action has costs and benefits • How much would you pay for… • A human life? • Speed limit 10 MPH? • Nutrition for every man, woman, and child? • Food without pesticide residue? • No pollution? • Freedom? • Fair trade? http://www.superkidsnutrition.com/app_themes/sba_nutrition/images/NA_ProtectSelfFromPesticides.jpg

  10. Harnessing greed in policy • Economic incentives • Can make it more expensive • To have children • To degrade the environment • Need property rights • Production increases with reward • If we eat less: • other countries won’t benefit • Farmers will produce less • As demand increases • efficiency increases • Products made available more cheaply • Alternatives found http://sheepwaker.tripod.com/greed.jpg

  11. Policy to reduce undernutrition? • 250 Calories/day would erase Calorie deficit of hungry • Cost 35 cents/day/person • = $6,400 invested at 2% interest • Value of Human Life? • For 800 million people, this policy would • Increase food prices • Increase environmental costs of food production http://www.pbs.org/newshour/images/africa/july-dec07/1126_somalia_bhead2.jpg

  12. Policies to raise incomes of poor • Redistribute income from rich to poor • Rationale: declining marginal utility of income • Rich don’t benefit from a dollar spent as much as poor do • But should incomes be equalized? • Improve rate of economic growth • Is Globalization beneficial to developing nations? http://www.alliance2015.org/var/news/storage/images/galleries/world_poverty_map/2452-1-eng-GB/world_poverty_map.jpg

  13. Policies to reduce price of food • Population reduction • Demand will rise slower • Food prices will rise slower • Increasing supply • Research investment • Loans to farmers http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2300/2198720003_b56c80b97c_o.jpg

  14. Policies to reduce cost of food • Price supports • Sell food to consumers • Subsidies to farmers • Both reduce economic efficiency • Therefore distortionary • Corrective price policies • Example: correcting distortions that reduce food output

  15. Aid Policies • Aid can help • If targeted to poor • Example: School feeding • In emergencies • Aid can hurt • If wealthy elites profit from it • makes the problem worse • Often designed to further our national and trade interests • Directed mainly at political allies • not hungry nations http://www.bread.org/assets/images/learn/food-aid.jpg

  16. http://static.flickr.com/51/189662626_257b15004f_o.jpg

  17. Aid Policies • Have been used as a lever • to impose “structural adjustment” on foreign trade policies • If foreign countries do not open up markets • or reduce subsidies as directed by U.S. • Aid may stop • Designed to create new markets • foster dependence on U.S. grain • Korea http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5111439M5NL._SL500_AA240_.jpg

  18. Aid Policies • When aid is given as free grain • undermines prices for farmers • driving them out of business • Military aid can lead to armed conflicts • that generate hungry people • Well-off divert aid to help themselves • further widening gap between haves and have-nots http://www.wfp.org/img/newsroom/afghanistan/310/dscn0678.jpg

  19. U.S.Agency for International Development (USAID) • Started with Marshall Plan after WWII • Principal U.S. foreign aid agency to help countries: • Recover from disaster • Escape poverty • Democratic reforms • Partnership with • 3,500 U.S. businesses • 3,000 Organizations • $8.8 Billion USAID in Uganda

  20. U.S. Foreign Aid • U.S. gave $28 billion (2007) • Largest Donor in world • Less generous based on capacity to give (GNP) • < 0.22% Federal Budget • Majority think U.S. Aid is 20X more http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/05/business_aid_and_development/img/1.jpg

  21. U.S. Foreign Aid Budget http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2389/2429946098_2f24950561.jpg

  22. U.S. Generosity • 2007 Government Aid: • $28 billion • 2007 Private giving • $93 billion • $61 billion: private payments to family members • 2007 Private Lending, Investment • $69 billion http://photos.state.gov/libraries/usinfo-photo/39/week_4_0507/052507-AidChart_en_200.jpg

  23. Third World Debt • Forgiving third-world debt • would help countries become self-sufficient • Honduras annual debt payments • exceed amount spent on health and education combined • Total debt payments • greater than foreign aid and foreign investment combined http://bloodbankers.typepad.com/submerging_markets/chart_intro.1.%20Growth%20of%20the%20Debt.jpg

  24. http://www1.worldbank.org/devoutreach/spring01/images7/hipc_map_7.gifhttp://www1.worldbank.org/devoutreach/spring01/images7/hipc_map_7.gif

More Related