A food insecurity Kuznets Curve?

B-Tier
Journal: World Development
Year: 2023
Volume: 165
Issue: C

Authors (4)

Wesselbaum, Dennis (University of Otago) Smith, Michael D. (not in RePEc) Barrett, Christopher B. (Cornell University) Aiyar, Anaka (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.503 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Advances in food security proceed unevenly within and across nations. A striking pattern emerges from analysis of >560,000 individual responses to the first globally comparable, nationally representative, repeated food insecurity survey, which is statistically representative of >96 % of the world’s population. We find the relationship between the prevalence of food insecurity in a country and intranational, interpersonal inequality in food insecurity follows a strong inverse-U shape, i.e., a Kuznets Curve. The relationship is stable over time and across relevant inequality measures and estimation methods. This finding can help guide the implementation of safety nets and social protection programs to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 2 and to satisfy the human right enshrined in Article 25 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:wdevel:v:165:y:2023:i:c:s0305750x23000074
Journal Field
Development
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-24