Publication:
Trade Policy and Food Security : Improving Access to Food in Developing Countries in the Wake of High World Prices

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dc.contributor.authorGillson, Ian
dc.contributor.authorFouad, Amir
dc.contributor.editorGillson, Ian
dc.contributor.editorFouad, Amir
dc.date.accessioned2014-11-18T17:15:54Z
dc.date.available2014-11-18T17:15:54Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.description.abstractBased on forecasts of global population growth, food security will remain an important economic development issue over the next several decades. In addition, real food prices have risen in recent years after decades of decline, bringing the issue of food security even further into the public spotlight. However, there is no global food shortage: the problem is one of moving food, often across borders, from surplus production areas to deficit ones at prices that low-income consumers in developing countries can afford. Trade can be an excellent buffer for domestic fluctuations in food supply. World output of a given food commodity is far less variable than output in individual countries so increased trade integration holds considerable potential to stabilize food prices, boost returns to farmers and reduce the prices faced by consumers. Trade liberalization protects national food markets against domestic shocks by allowing more food to be imported in times of shortage and exported in periods of plenty. Historically, however, most countries have chosen to take the opposite approach by restricting imports of food and discouraging exports to keep domestic markets isolated from international shocks. Food commodity markets, therefore, remain highly distorted despite the wave of liberalization that has swept world trade since the 1980s. In addition to examining the determinants of recent food price spikes, Trade Policy and Food Security explores the impact of food prices on economic welfare, and how the effect of price changes on food security and economic welfare in developing countries can be mitigated through appropriate national policies at the border. It highlights the importance of both the extension and continued application of existing WTO disciplines on trade-distorting agricultural trade policies as a key resolution to the collective action problem witnessed during the recent food price spikes, whereby unilateral border policies--especially export controls--simply exacerbated the initial price increases.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/01/20391010/trade-policy-food-security-improving-access-food-developing-countries-wake-high-world-prices
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/978-1-4648-0305-5
dc.identifier.isbn978-1-4648-0305-5
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/20537
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWashington, DC: World Bank
dc.relation.ispartofseriesDirections in Development--Trade
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectWorld Trade Organization
dc.subjectWTO
dc.subjectbiofuel
dc.subjectcommodities
dc.subjectfood prices
dc.subjectfood security
dc.subjectmaize
dc.subjectnon-tariff measures
dc.subjectpreferential trade agreements
dc.subjectrice
dc.subjecttrade
dc.titleTrade Policy and Food Security : Improving Access to Food in Developing Countries in the Wake of High World Pricesen
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.date.disclosure2014-11-17
okr.doctypePublications & Research::Publication
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/01/20391010/trade-policy-food-security-improving-access-food-developing-countries-wake-high-world-prices
okr.globalpracticeTrade and Competitiveness
okr.globalpracticeAgriculture
okr.guid203531468330023474
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/978-1-4648-0305-5
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum090224b084340ca8_2_0
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum20391010
okr.identifier.report92647
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2014/11/17/000470435_20141117144308/Rendered/PDF/926470PUB0978100Box385381B00PUBLIC0.pdfen
okr.sectorAgriculture, fishing, and forestry :: Crops
okr.topicAgriculture::Food Markets
okr.topicAgriculture::Food Security
okr.topicAgriculture::Commodity Risk Management
okr.topicInternational Economics and Trade::International Trade and Trade Rules
okr.topicInternational Economics and Trade::Trade Liberalization
okr.topicInternational Economics and Trade::Trade and Agriculture
okr.topicInternational Economics and Trade::World Trade Organization
okr.topicPoverty Reduction
okr.unitTrade and Competitiveness GP - IBRD (GTCDR)
relation.isSeriesOfPublication706db16a-e556-46f0-8283-1b4a4b88645c
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery706db16a-e556-46f0-8283-1b4a4b88645c
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