scholarly journals Challenges to meet: food and nutrition security in the new millennium

2001 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Lipton
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Protein Energy Malnutrition ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Scientific Advance ◽  
Adequate Food ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Food Staples

Before about 1750 there was no substantial secular fall in protein–energy malnutrition (PEM) over large areas, nor reason to expect it. We have since learned that sufficient economic advance (poverty reduction) plus scientific advance (in medicine and food production) are achievable to eliminate mass PEM. The two advances are linked via increased demand for labour, and hence wages and employment, for those formerly too poor to afford adequate food. The extra employment income arises first from smallholder and employee food production, and later, as labour is released, from a wide range of specialised, increasingly non-farm, production, with employment income traded for food. This process eliminated mass hunger in Europe in 1750–1960. Only by 1975 had PEM in the developing world retreated to (very high) 1936–8 levels, but it fell sharply in Asia and Latin America in 1975–1990, due to unprecedented growth in staples yields, smallholder and farm employment income, and hence the poor's purchasing power over food. However, since 1990, poverty reduction has slowed (before reaching most of Africa), alongside much slower-staples yield growth, increasing water shortages, and big shifts of grain and land from man to farm animals. These trends prefigure declining progress against PEM in coming decades, unless there is renewed, employment-intensive food-staples-yield growth. That process requires reorienting crop biotechnology and water science towards the needs of small tropical farmers and their staple food crops, and shifting land towards them. Mass PEM is indeed largely due to inadequate ‘food entitlements’ by the hungry, but will not be remedied without growth in their employment, based on further advances in food-staples yields per unit land and water. Recent evidence suggests that early PEM may increase lifelong risks of infection and/or degenerative disease. This factor would increase the ‘squeeze’ on health resources in low-income countries, between the diseases of poverty and those of old age. That situation increases the need to readdress PEM by renewed progress in food production and land distribution.

Use of Windfall Gold Sale Profits—Further Considerations

Policy Papers ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 (33) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Executive Directors ◽  
Preliminary Discussion ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Wide Range

In April 2011, Executive Directors held a preliminary discussion on the use of the profits of SDR 6.85 billion from the Fund’s limited gold sale. They noted their expectation that at least SDR 4.4 billion of the profits would be placed in an endowment within the Investment Account, and affirmed their support for the 2009 financing package for low-income countries (LICs), including the distribution to the Fund’s membership of up to SDR 0.7 billion from the profits linked to gold sales, with the expectation that most members will return equivalent funds to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT). There was a wide range of views among Directors on the three main options presented for the windfall of SDR 1.75 billion, but no consensus favoring a single option. The main options presented included use of resources linked to the windfall to boost the capacity of the PRGT, counting the windfall towards precautionary balances, or investing the windfall profits as part of the Investment Account’s endowment. Many Directors indicated that they could support a combination of two or more of the main options.

scholarly journals Immigration and economic mobility

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria F. Hoen ◽  
Simen Markussen ◽  
Knut Røed
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Labor Market Outcomes ◽  
Lower Class ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Class Background ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Relative Prime

AbstractWe examine how immigration affects natives’ relative prime-age labor market outcomes by economic class background, with class background established on the basis of parents’ earnings rank. Exploiting alternative sources of variation in immigration patterns across time and space, we find that immigration from low-income countries reduces intergenerational mobility and thus steepens the social gradient in natives’ labor market outcomes, whereas immigration from high-income countries levels it. These findings are robust with respect to a wide range of identifying assumptions. The analysis is based on high-quality population-wide administrative data from Norway, which is one of the rich-world countries with the most rapid rise in the immigrant population share over the past two decades. Our findings suggest that immigration can explain a considerable part of the observed relative decline in economic performance among natives with a lower-class background.

scholarly journals Interventions to support family caregivers of people living with dementia in high, middle and low-income countries in Asia: a scoping review

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. e001830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ladson Hinton ◽  
Duyen Tran ◽  
Thuc-Nhi Nguyen ◽  
Janis Ho ◽  
Laura Gitlin
Keyword(s):  
Scoping Review ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Family Caregiver ◽  
Psychosocial Interventions ◽  
High Income ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Cultural Adaptations ◽  
Wide Range

IntroductionDespite increasing numbers of persons living with Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s-related dementias (AD/ADRD) in Asia, particularly in low-income countries (LIC) and middle-income countries (MIC), surprisingly little is known about the current state of the evidence for family caregiver interventions. The objectives of this scoping review were to: (1) describe the evidence for efficacy of family dementia-caregiver psychosocial interventions in Asian countries, (2) compare evidence across LIC, MIC, and high-income countries (HIC), and (3) characterise cultural adaptions to interventions developed outside Asia.MethodsThe inclusion criteria included: (1) conducted in Asia (2) included an intervention delivered to a family caregiver of a person living with AD/ADRD, (3) reported quantitative outcomes for the family caregiver and (4) published in a peer-reviewed journal with full text available in English.ResultsThirty intervention trials were identified meeting inclusion criteria and all reported statistically significant (p<0.05) improvement in one or more caregiver outcomes. Interventions usually included multiple components. The most frequently reported outcomes (ie, by ≥20% of studies) were caregiver depression, burden, quality of life and self-efficacy. Overall, 26 (87%) of the studies were conducted in HIC in Asia, primarily in Hong Kong SAR—China and Taiwan, and only 4 (13%) in LIC and MIC in Asia. Seven studies (23%) used interventions developed in USA and several described cultural adaptations.ConclusionThis scoping review found substantial evidence, particularly from high-income Asian countries, that a wide range of interventions improve AD/ADRD family caregiver outcomes. However, critical knowledge gaps exist, particularly for LIC and MIC in Asia, where the number of persons with dementia is numerically largest and projected to increase dramatically in coming decades. The field could also benefit from more detailed descriptions of the process and types of cultural adaptations to interventions.

scholarly journals Socially vs. Privately Optimal Control of Livestock Diseases: A Case for Integration of Epidemiology and Economics

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ângelo J. Mendes ◽  
Daniel T. Haydon ◽  
Emma McIntosh ◽  
Nick Hanley ◽  
Jo E. B. Halliday
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Control ◽  
Disease Control ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Control Effort ◽  
Optimal Behavior ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Livestock Diseases

This paper aims to illustrate the interdependencies between key epidemiological and economic factors that influence the control of many livestock infectious diseases. The factors considered here are (i) farmer heterogeneity (i.e., differences in how farmers respond to a perceived disease risk), (ii) off-farm effects of farmers' actions to control a disease (i.e., costs and benefits borne by agents that are external to the farm), and (iii) misalignment between privately and socially optimal control efforts (i.e., privately optimal behavior not conducive to a socially optimal outcome). Endemic chronic diseases cause a wide range of adverse social and economic impacts, particularly in low-income countries. The actions taken by farmers to control livestock diseases minimize some of these impacts, and heterogeneity in those actions leads to variation in prevalence at the farm level. While some farmers respond to perceived disease risks, others free-ride on the actions of these individuals, thereby compromising the potential benefits of collective, coordinated behavior. When evaluating a plausible range of disease cost to price of control ratios and assuming that farmers choose their privately optimal control effort, we demonstrate that achievement of a socially optimal disease control target is unlikely, occurring in &lt;25% of all price-cost combinations. To achieve a socially optimal disease control outcome (reliant on farmers' voluntary actions), control policies must consider farmer heterogeneity, off-farm effects, and the predicted uptake of control measures under the assumption of optimized behavior.

2016 Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust - Review of Interest Rate Structure

Policy Papers ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 (50) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Interest Rate ◽  
Interest Rates ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Credit Facility ◽  
Rate Structure ◽  
Low Interest Rates ◽  
The Interest Rate ◽  
Rate Mechanism

This paper reviews the interest rate structure that would apply to the PRGT in 2017–18. Based on the interest rate setting mechanism agreed in 2009, the interest rate for the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) would be zero and the rate for the Standby Credit Facility (SCF) would be 0.25 percent. The interest rate for the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) was set permanently at zero in July 2015. Since the current mechanism was agreed, the Executive Board has granted successive exceptional interest waivers on all outstanding Fund concessional credit, setting all interest rates charged at zero percent. These waivers have been extended three times, providing interest rate relief to many low-income countries at a time when they faced considerable headwinds from the global economic environment. A strong case remains for maintaining zero rates on Fund concessional credit at the current global economic juncture. The global outlook for LICs has not significantly improved since the last review and downside risks remain significant. At the same time, many Directors noted at the last review in 2014 that the possibility of a prolonged period of very low interest rates warrants an early re-examination of the mechanism, including an exit strategy from repeated application of the waiver, with the objective of safeguarding the self-sustaining capacity of the PRGT. The paper seeks to respond to this call. It proposes that the PRGT interest rate mechanism be amended to accommodate anomalies created by a prolonged period of very low interest rates. Specifically, a new threshold is proposed whereby both the ECF and the SCF rate would be set at zero when the 12-month average SDR rate is less than or equal to 0.75 percent. This proposal will likely keep all PRGT interest rates under the mechanism at zero through at least 2020 given current market expectations while incurring only minimal subsidy costs and eliminating the need for continual waivers. In addition, staff proposes to waive interest rate charges on outstanding legacy balances under the Exogenous Shocks Facility (ESF), which are not determined via the interest rate mechanism, until the next review.

2017 Handbook of IMF Facilities for Low-Income Countries

Policy Papers ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Policy Coordination ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Executive Board ◽  
Reference Tool ◽  
Financial Safety Net ◽  
Comprehensive Reference

This Handbook provides guidance to staff on the financial facilities and non-financial instruments for low-income countries (LICs), defined here as all countries eligible to obtain concessional financing from the Fund. It updates the previous version of the Handbook that was published in February 2016 (IMF, 2016d) by incorporating modifications resulting from Board papers and related decisions since that time, including Financing for Development—Enhancing the Financial Safety Net for Developing Countries—Further Considerations (IMF, 2016c), Review of Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust – Review of Interest Rate Structure (IMF, 2016b), Eligibility to Use the Fund’s Facilities for Concessional Financing (IMF, 2017a), Large Natural Disasters—Enhancing the Financial Safety Net for Developing Countries (IMF, 2017b) and Adequacy of the Global Financial Safety Net – Proposal for a New Policy Coordination Instrument (IMF, 2017c). Designed as a comprehensive reference tool for program work on LICs, the Handbook also refers, in summary form, to a range of relevant policies that apply more generally to IMF members. As with all guidance notes, the relevant IMF Executive Board decisions, including the terms of the various LIC Trust Instruments that have been adopted by the Board, remain the sole legal authority on the matters covered in the Handbook

Modification of Access Policies for the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility and the Exogenous Shocks Facility

Policy Papers ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 09 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Economic Downturn ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Exogenous Shocks ◽  
World Economic ◽  
Access Policies ◽  
Over Time

The paper proposes a doubling of access limits on concessional lending to ensure that the Fund can respond effectively to the needs of low-income countries (LICs) severely affected by the current world economic downturn. Pending adoption of broader reforms to the LIC facilities architecture, higher access limits under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) and Exogenous Shocks Facility-High-Access Component (ESF-HAC) would give the Fund greater flexibility in assisting LICs, which have become more exposed to global volatility over time. A doubling of access limits would restore them to their 1998 levels in percent of GDP and would be consistent with the approach taken in determining new access limits for General Resources Account (GRA) resources. It would also be in line with the projected doubling of medium-term demand for concessional resources.

2005 Review of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Approach - Balancing Accountabilities and Scaling Up Results

Policy Papers ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (67) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
New Approach ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
Poverty Reduction Strategy ◽  
The International Monetary Fund

In December 1999, the World Bank (the Bank) and the International Monetary Fund (the Fund) introduced a new approach to their relations with low-income countries, centered around the development and implementation of poverty reduction strategies (PRS) by the countries as a precondition for access to debt relief and concessional financing from both institutions. These strategies were also expected to serve as a framework for better coordination of development assistance among other development partners.

Handbook of IMF Facilities for Low-Income Countries

Policy Papers ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 (18) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Low Income Countries

The Fund’s concessional facilities are aimed at providing flexible and tailored support to low-income countries (LICs) in their efforts to achieve, maintain, or restore a stable and sustainable macroeconomic position consistent with strong and durable poverty reduction and growth.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document