Impact of the global food crisis on the poor: what is the evidence? -

* Disclaimer: The views presented in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of DFID i Acknowledgements The authors are very grateful to Issa Sanogo and Joyce Luma of WFP for all their help at various stages with this paper. Also thanks to David Dawe from FAO, as well as to everyone who attended the January 2010 workshop at ODI on country responses to the food price crisis, for extremely productive discussions. We also thank Derek Headey of IFPRI and those others who kindly shared advance copies of their works in progress. Thanks also go to John Farrington for helpful comments on an earlier version, and to Emily Darko for valuable editorial assistance. All errors remain with the authors. Abstract This review draws together evidence from field studies on the effects of high food prices and compares this evidence with the predictions made at the beginning of the 2007–08 price spike. As predicted, high food prices increased malnutrition (especially in young children) and poverty. Some findings however were less obvious, including the depth of the impact in rural areas, the increase in inequality; the increase in indebtedness due to the widespread use of credit to buy food, and that most poverty impact came from increasing depth of poverty in the already‐poor, rather than increased poverty headcount. Studies on how poor people coped with food price rises highlight some areas of policy that merit further support, including education, health and most especially finance for the poor. iii Summary When international food prices were soaring in early 2008, there was a rush of publications predicting the impact of such price hikes on poor people and suggesting policy solutions. What hard evidence has been collected about the impact on poor and vulnerable people in developing countries? Does this support or change previous policy recommendations? This review draws together evidence from studies on the effects of the 2007–08 price spike, as well as from some other economic crises that resulted in high food prices. As predicted, high food prices increased malnutrition (especially in young children) and poverty. Some findings were less obvious. These included: the depth of the impact in rural areas, the increase in inequality; the widespread use of credit to buy food, and the fact that most poverty impact came from increasing depth of poverty in the already‐poor, rather than increased 'poverty headcount'. As widely …