越南通过革新土地政策促进农业农村发展

越南是一个农业人口占总人口70％多、耕地和林地占国土总面积60％、农业总产值占国内生产总值20％的传统农业国家,农业、农村和农民在越南社会经济中占有重要地位。革新开放以来,越南通过不断革新土地政策,推动农村生产力解放,使农业农村得到迅猛发展,并对越南整个经济社会发展产生了深远影响。     

发达国家农民工社会保障经验及对中国的启示

人权保障是当今国际社会的重要话题,受到国际社会的普遍关注。实践反复证明,资本主义市场经济条件下的广大劳工,不是市场经济的局外人,而是市场经济的重要主体;不是无足轻重的雇佣奴隶,而是对市场经济发展有重大影响的“利害攸关者”。     

世界各国构建住房保障体系的基本模式和经验归纳

切实解决与改善中国低收入居民家庭的住房问题,实现“人人享有适当住房”的目标,乃是构建社会主义和谐社会的重中之重。中国共产党的“十七大”报告指出：“努力使全体人民学有所教、劳有所得、病有所医、老有所养、住有所居。”“健全廉租住房制度,加快解决城市低收入家庭住房困难。”这充分体现了中国党和政府对于住房保障体系建设工作的高度重视。低收入家庭的住房保障问题也是世界各国面临的一个共同性社会问题。     

国际政治研究与中国的粮食安全(代序)

一、粮食供应稳定：中国的敏感 像诸多国际政治研究中的非传统安全课题一样,粮食安全是审视中国与外部世界的关联及互动的重要课题。2007-2008年间,全球出现了又一轮粮食危机。其显著表征是国际市场的玉米、大米和小麦的平均价格翻了两番甚至三番。由于在谷物品种中,玉米、大米和小麦与满足人类的日常营养需求的相关度更高,所以,其价格超常规波动对一些高度依赖进口的国家造成了冲击,     

Intellectual Property and Food Security in Least Developed Countries

This paper analyses the impact of intellectual property laws on food security in Least Developed Countries (LDCs), taking the Pacific Islands countries as an example. It argues that ip laws are increasingly impacting upon food security, but are not being adequately taken into account in national policy development. Consequently, national ip regimes are developing in ways that undermine, rather than promote, food security. The paper argues that the particular context of LDCs, including a lack of technological development and reliance upon traditional agricultural systems, requires an approach to intellectual property that is substantially different from the ‘one size fits all’ approach mandated by the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.     

日本农业发展经验对中国农业发展方式转变的启示

中国作为世界第一农业大国,人多地少,农户生产规模小,农民组织化程度较低,农民收入不高,转变农业发展方式将是经济发展方式转变的一个长期而重要的任务。日本资源禀赋、文化背景与中国极其相似,因此认真总结日本农业发展相关经验对于转变中国农业发展方式,促进经济发展具有十分重要的意义。     

Responding to Food Insecurity: Employing the Market Information and Food Insecurity Response Analysis Framework in Rural Northern Kenya

Aid agencies are increasingly advocating for cash transfers as a substitute or complement to food transfers when responding to both emergency and chronic food insecurity. Yet, cash is not always optimal. In this article, we demonstrate how a newly developed response analysis tool, the Marketing Information and Food Insecurity Response Analysis (MIFIRA) framework can guide evidence-based identification of appropriate transfers. We present findings from a MIFIRA analysis in Marsabit; a remote and generally food-insecure district of northern Kenya. As a demonstration of the analytical versatility of MIFIRA, we utilise a variety of data, ranging from rigorously-collected household data, to market surveys and rapid assessments in focus groups. As a proof of concept, this article shows how MIFIRA can be effectively deployed in other regions facing chronic or emergency food insecurity to help response agencies make systematic decisions on a solid evidence base.     

Cash Crops and Food Security: Evidence from Ethiopian Smallholder Coffee Producers

One of the central questions in food policy debates has been the role of cash cropping for achieving food security in low-income countries. We revisit this question in the context of smallholder coffee production in Ethiopia. Using data collected by the authors on about 1600 coffee farmers in the country, we find that coffee income is associated with improved food security, even after controlling for total income and other factors. Further analysis suggests that one possible pathway is linked to being better able to smooth consumption across agricultural seasons.     

Social Hierarchies and Public Distribution of Food in Rural India

In this paper, we develop a simple model to show that consumption of PDS food grains is significantly different between rich and poor households in states in which the PDS functions relatively well; in states in which the PDS is non-functional, the difference is not significant. Using household-level data from three recent thick rounds of the consumption expenditure survey (2004–2005, 2009–2010, and 2011–2012), we find evidence in support of the predictions from the model. This suggests that one way to make the PDS functional is to make it more accessible to poor and underprivileged households.     

国际粮价高位运行对中国粮食安全的影响及应对策略

当前,国际粮食价格持续上涨,根据联合国粮农组织(FA0)统计报告,2007年全球粮价指数上涨加%.导致全球粮价不断攀升的因素,除国际谷物的低库存、趋紧的供给现状与强劲的需求之间严重失衡,致使供求状况紧张,国际粮价一路走高外,生物质能源的广泛利用、大量玉米被用于生产乙醇也推高了玉米价格,进而导致其他粮食价格上涨.此外,气候变化带来的自然灾害致使庄家歉收,对全球粮食供给和需求产生了较大影响,也成为推动国际粮价上涨的诱因之一.面对国际粮食短缺和国际粮价上涨的现状,作为发展中国家的中国,保障粮食安全,减轻国际粮价高位运行带来的影响,制定切实可行的应对策略则至关重要.     

Returning Home after Civil War: Food Security and Nutrition among Burundian Households

This paper investigates the food security and nutritional status of formerly displaced households (HHs). Using the 2006 Core Welfare Indicator Survey for Burundi we compare their food intake and their level of expenses with that of their non-displaced neighbours. We test whether it is the duration of displacement that matters for current food security and nutritional status or the time lapsed since returning home. We use log-linear as well as propensity score matching and an instrumental variable-approach to control for self-selection bias. We find that the individuals and HHs who returned home just before the time of the survey are worse off compared to those who returned several years earlier. On average, the formerly displaced have 5 per cent lower food expenses and 6 per cent lower calorie intake. Moreover, we find evidence in favour of duration of displacement as the main mechanisms through which displacement affects HH welfare. Results are robust after controlling for self-selection bias. Despite international, government and NGO assistance, the welfare of recent returnees is lagging seriously behind in comparison with the local non-displaced populations.     

DISCUSSION - Agricultural Policy Reform and Rural Livelihoods in Central Mexico

This contribution examines the impact of profound changes to agricultural policy implemented since 1988 on the livelihoods of Mexico's rural population. Detailed studies in four villages show that rural incomes are very unevenly distributed within communities leaving half of households in poverty. During the last decade key factors affecting village economies have been international and national, rather than specific changes to farm policy. Most changes have been to the detriment of the communities studied, but peasant households have adapted and survived, at a price. If the worst fears about the consequences of economic liberalisation have not been realised, neither have the hopes. Depressed markets for basic goods and services have limited the growth of the rural economy. Private investment and provision of services have not been stimulated.     

Agricultural Workers,Credit Rationing and Family Networks in Rural Mexico

Abstract

We use mixed methods and first-hand household data in Mexico to investigate credit practices by households engaged in agricultural wage employment. Quantitative analysis shows evidence of rationing in the formal sector but also suggests the existence of mitigating mechanisms. Qualitative analysis provides additional insights. First, income patterns associated with agricultural wage generate income smoothing needs that are sometimes better met by the informal sector. Second, family networks can perform key functions as gateways to the formal sector, through specific informal arrangements that inject flexibility into formal rules and procedures.     

An Empirical Investigation into Measurement and Determinants of Food Security

We examine the association between calorie-based indicators and experiential indicators of food security using data from slum households of Kolkata surveyed in 2010–2011. Experiential indicator is constructed following the United States Household Food Security Survey Module. Calorie based indicator is constructed using household-specific calorie norms. Modelling techniques take account of potential endogeneity in the relationship. The two indicators are aligned in the same direction implying more accurate targeting. However, there is a lack of one-to-one correspondence between the two measures and the drivers of calorie deprivation and food insecurity also differ, suggesting a one-size-fits-all policy cannot address both concerns simultaneously.     

The Role of Empowerment in Agricultural Production: Evidence from Rural Households in Niger

We use new household and individual level WEAI data from the Tahoua region of Niger and estimate a variable coefficient Cobb-Douglas production function in which traditional inputs interact with two human capital variables – empowerment and formal education. Our estimation results reveal that human capital matters for productivity. So much so that it can be considered as technology-changing, significantly affecting a household’s production technology by enhancing returns to equipment. In fact, differentiating households by their status as dual or primary with only an adult female or male reveals that the productivity elasticity of empowerment is large for dual households in which women are the least empowered. Enhancing the empowerment of women in this group of households, by increasing their leadership skills or tenure security, would yield important productivity gains.