Suchergebnisse

Many studies have sought to gauge the impact of population growth on economic growth. A well‐known stylized fact of this literature is that the estimated effects of population growth measures on economic growth are not robust, varying between being positive, negative, and insignificantly different from zero. The present study analyzes 471 statistical regressions from 29 prominent economic growth studies using meta‐regression analysis to identify the effect of alternative methodologies on key population growth results. This study finds that a broad set of methodological factors explains more than half of the variation in the population growth effects observed from this literature, including the types of variables used to measure population growth, the countries selected, the time frame of the analysis, and the nature of the control variables specified. The study also yields results that have implications for policymakers, especially insofar as several policy factors seem to influence the population change–economic growth nexus. Particularly strong is the evidence in support of the increasingly adverse effects of population growth in the post‐1980 period, suggesting that demographic issues should warrant greater attention than they currently receive from the policymaking community.

Cheap food has been taken for granted for almost 30 years. From their peak in the 1970s crisis, real food prices steadily declined in the 1980s and 1990s and eventually reached an all-time low in the early 2000s. Rich and poor governments alike therefore saw little need to invest in agricultural production, and reliance on food imports appeared to be a relatively safe and efficient means of achieving national food security. However, as the international prices of major food cereals surged upward from 2006 to 2008 these perceptions quickly collapsed. Furthermore, although food prices are now lower than their 2008 peak, real prices have remained significantly higher in 2009 and 2010 than they were prior to the crisis, and various simulation models predict that real food prices will remain high until at least the end of the next decade. ; PR ; IFPRI1 ; DSGD

IFPRI3; ISI; Transform Nutrition; CRP4; B Promoting healthy food systems; Stories of Change in Nutrition ; PHND; A4NH ; PR ; CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)

Like other West African cotton producers, Burkina Faso's cotton strategy has traditionally involved substantial government intervention in both input and output markets. Despite some notable successes, this state-led strategy became widely criticized by the late 1980s for inefficiencies, inequities, and for inducing macro-economic instability. However, Burkina Faso rejected both the status quo and wholesale liberalization paths, and instead embarked on a more gradual and sequenced reform path that included strengthening farmers' groups before partially liberalizing input and output markets. Although these reforms have coincided with Burkina Faso becoming the largest cotton exporter in Africa, this paper more rigorously assesses the success of these reforms through both descriptive evidence and a counterfactual analysis of what might have happened if the prereform status quo had continued. We conclude that the reforms were highly successful in terms of production growth, job creation, and in improving nutrition and poverty reduction among cotton producers. However, we also consider important caveats. Partly by design, the reforms were less successful at raising yields, stimulating development in the broader economy, and addressing environmental concerns. The more damaging criticism that the reforms have proved financially unsustainable is also considered. Without being apologist, we argue that the new institutions created under the cotton reforms at least provide a deliberative forum for successfully addressing the problem. A key challenge for the near future will be to ensure that the key institutions in this forum–particularly the farmers union and the former parastatal–are made more accountable to farmers and other key actors in the cotton sectors. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI1; GRP4; 2020 ; DGO

The COVID-19 pandemic has all the makings of a perfect storm for global malnutrition. The crisis will damage the nutritional status of vulnerable groups through multiple mechanisms. We can expect a dangerous decline in dietary quality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) stemming from the income losses related to government-mandated shutdowns and de-globalization, as well as from the freezing of food transfer schemes such as school feeding programs and the breakdown of food markets due to both demand shocks and supply constraints. But malnutrition will also increase due to healthcare failures, as already strained healthcare systems are forced to divert resources from a range of nutritionally important functions — including antenatal care, immunization, micronutrient supplementation, and prevention and treatment of childhood diarrhea, infections, and acute malnutrition — toward combating COVID-19. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI4; CRP4 ; PHND; A4NH ; CGIAR Research Programs on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)