UPCOMING EVENT
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
1:30 PM to 02:45 PM
Washington, DC
On November 24, Global Economy and Development at Brookings will host a discussion on nutrition, school feeding programs and food security in the developing world. Over the past five years, droughts in grain-producing nations, increased oil prices and sales of corn to produce biofuels have contributed to skyrocketing food prices and lower quantities of food reserves. Issues of food and food security differ in complexity across state, national and regional boundaries, often depending on the strength of a country’s economy and the stability of its political leadership. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Johannes F. Linn, August 12, 2008, The Brookings Institution
In June 2008, Johannes Linn warned of a water and energy crisis facing Central Asia and advised governments and international agencies to take urgent action. The following month, at the invitation of the United Nations Development Program, 15 international and bilateral agencies met in Kazakhstan to review the impending crisis in the region. Linn highlights the agencies’ findings and provides an update on the regions and international community’s next steps. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Homi Kharas, August 06, 2008, Economist.com
In an Oxford-style debate hosted by The Economist, Homi Kharas closes his argument that there is “an upside for humanity in the rise of food prices.” Kharas argues that further research concludes that the current high food prices can lead to an optimistic future for the world’s poor—more food, higher income, and ultimately a decline in poverty. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Homi Kharas, August 04, 2008, Economist.com
As part of an Oxford-style debate hosted by The Economist, Homi Kharas provides further reasoning that there is “an upside for humanity in the rise of food prices.” Higher prices provide incentives for increased food production and opportunities for raised incomes among the poor, and international donor support for the developing world has been accelerated due to this global crisis. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Homi Kharas, July 29, 2008, Economist.com
In an Oxford-style debate hosted by The Economist, Homi Kharas supports the proposition that that there is “an upside for humanity in the rise of food prices.” Kharas argues that although current high food prices create hardships for some, higher prices in a market economy will provide the incentive for further production and ultimately raise incomes and provide the world with more food. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Johannes F. Linn, July 10, 2008, The Brookings Institution
Poverty, climate change, and the food crisis were at the forefront of the G8 Summit held in Hokkaido, Japan this week. Johannes Linn assesses the G8 meeting outcomes, and explores the implications of their commitments and other pending issues, including potential enlargement of the group. Read More
VIDEO
Homi Kharas, July 02, 2008
Homi Kharas offers some insight about the G8 summit with a particular focus on poverty and global food prices. Kharas argues that G-8 nations need to address short-term solutions as well as the broader issues of imbalances in the global economy in order to have a more comprehensive set of solutions for the global food crisis.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Arvind Panagariya and Jagdish Bhagwati, June 23, 2008, Financial Times
Brookings expert Arvind Panagariya and Council on Foreign Relations fellow Jagdish Bhagwati discuss different arguments for the possibility that the food crisis could solve the Doha trade round. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Raj M. Desai, June 19, 2008, The Brookings Institution
Rising food prices may reduce the extreme poverty often found in rural agricultural areas, argues Raj Desai. However, due to the continuous neglect of agricultural investment from bilateral donors and rich stakeholders, the poor farmers will not find this escape from poverty and actions taken to ease the effect of growing food prices will keep the wealth in urban areas. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Lael Brainard and Noam Unger, June 16, 2008, Los Angeles Times
Lael Brainard and Noam Unger discuss how the global food crisis showcases America’s limited current capability to respond effectively to global development challenges, and argue that the U.S. must modernize its foreign aid system in order to effectively offer solutions to poverty and lead internationally. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Lex Rieffel, May 07, 2008, The Brookings Institution
With more than a million people killed, missing, or uprooted by the cyclone that struck Myanmar/Burma on May 3, international aid groups and foreign governments are mobilizing food, water and other assistance for the country. Lex Rieffel, who is currently studying the Asian perspective on Myanmar/Burma, addresses some of the key policy challenges. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Roberta Cohen, May 05, 2008, Washington Post
Hunger should know no politics, as President Ronald Reagan declared to justify food aid to Ethiopians starving under a brutal communist regime in the 1980s. Therefore South Korea's criticism of North Korea's human rights record need not prevent its providing food and fertilizer to hungry people in the North. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Noam Unger, May 02, 2008, The Brookings Institution
President Bush recently called on Congress to increase U.S. food aid and development programs by $770 million. In a recent op-ed, Noam Unger, senior manager of Brookings’ Foreign Aid Reform Project, discusses how U.S. assistance programs should be strengthened in order to improve the effectiveness of America’s aid during the global food crisis and beyond. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Raj M. Desai and Homi Kharas, April 24, 2008, The Brookings Institution
While the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings made recent headlines, the Global Philanthropy Forum, gathering top private aid donors, fell in the shadows. These private aid donors will likely give more aid to the world’s poor this year than the institutions that convened the Spring Meetings. Raj Desai and Homi Kharas compare these two events and discuss how private aid can help to relieve global poverty. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Khalid Koser, April 23, 2008, The Brookings Institution
As prices for food continue to rise while supply diminishes throughout the world, Khalid Koser writes that the global food crisis is "likely to have a significant impact on those already displaced." He offers insight into the problem and notes that short-term solutions such as cash transfers, lowering of domestic food prices, and food for work schemes will benefit those who are displaced or poor. Read More