Rising Food Prices and Coping Strategies : Household-level Evidence from Afghanistan

D'Souza, Anna ; Jolliffe, Dean

关键词: AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS;    AGRICULTURAL LAND;    AGRICULTURE;    BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE;    BEEF;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-5466
RP-ID  :  WPS5466

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper investigates the impact ofrising wheat prices -- during the 2007/08 global food crisis-- on food security in Afghanistan. Exploiting the temporalstratification of a unique nationally-representativehousehold survey, the analysis finds evidence of largedeclines in real per capita food consumption and in foodsecurity (per capita calorie intake and household dietarydiversity) corresponding to the price shocks. The datareveal smaller price elasticities with respect to caloriesthan with respect to food consumption, suggesting thathouseholds trade off quality for quantity as they movetoward staple foods and away from nutrient-rich foods suchas meat and vegetables. In addition, there is increaseddemand in the face of price increases (Giffen goodproperties) for wheat products in urban areas. This studyimproves on country-level simulation studies by providingestimates of actual household wellbeing before and duringthe height of the global food crisis in one of theworld's poorest, most food-insecure countries.