Famines Flashcards
what is a famine
socioeconomic process which casues accelerated destitution of the most vulnerable
- regional failure of food distribution/production that causes starvation
what causes the mortality in famines
drought is rarely mentioned
- many different initial causes of famines
is famine an act of god
- category of natural disasters
- separates from policitcal, economical issues
- few famines can be blamed on outside human influence
- not a case of everyone is affected = because how come the rich dont starve (they have access to food)
- not a problem of food not being there = exports still continue
is famine an act of man
- in most cases yes
- consequence of human behaviour
- no recent famine could not have been averted by taking food from somewhere else
- stronger correlation between famine and poverty, war than climate
Sens labelled famine theroies
FED FAD
FAD = food availability decline
- changes in crop yields - not enough food in some areas
- policies = give food
FED = Food entitlement decline
what is the Food availability decline about
is this theory viable
- reduced production of food = reduced rural employment = higher food prices
- consequences from climate
- doesnt explain why food doesnt come to an area - why is it not distributed after
- why do some groups have better access than others
climate can sometimes lead to famine
- drought and
war, no coping strategies, late interventions - drought causes crop failure
- but vulnerability to drought causes famine
FAD theory of population
Malthusian view that famine restoresbalance between food demand and supply = natural check
BUT
- baby boom , Boserup effect (pop is better for growth) , western more populated no famine
FAD neo Malthusians
too many people too little food
- where fragile environment = famine
- high pop makes poverty worse = worse living standards
- need to slow pop = birth control
BUT
- children help with risk
- fertility doesnt cause poverty = its a response to poverty
other theory to famine being caused by a shortage of food
FED = Famine entitlement decline
- there is enough food - but people still starving - whether person has access to food
what are the 4 categroies of entitlement for individuals
- trade based = what i can sell
- production based = what i make
- own labour = working
- inheritance = willingly given
what is the difference between endowments and exchange
endowments = what is owned
exchange = obtained by exchanging that endowment
what is endoment failure = starvation if change in his endowments
- loss of labour
- crop failure
- livestock die
- flooding of land
what is exchange failure
- fall in wages
- rise in food prices
- loss of employment
- drop inprice of good i buy or sell
how are endoments and exchange relationship
work together
endowments collapse
food price rises
distress sales of assets for low prices = large supply
increase in displace labour searching for work
collapse in exchange entitlements
graph what happens when endowments collapse
- Direct Entitlement Failure
- livestock die
= entitlement set does not contain enough food to avoid starvation
graph what happends when exchange collapse
Trade Entitlement Failure
change in price ratios
starvation set is larger
food prices rise
shifts outwards, pivots at food
what are the strengths of FED
- directs attention away from supply side problem of not enough food, to access to food of individuals
- there might be enough food available but exchange entitlements may be skewed causing famine
- offers framework for more effective policies
how should the policies change depending on FAD - FED
- should create more entitlements
- reduce the vulnerability to famine
- employment programmes = food in exchange for work - could miss vulnerable
- or cash = inflationary
how can it explain food exported
irish famine
- merchants and traders will not ship food to famine victims when they know they wont pay
- explains why they need money
limitations of SEN entitlement theory
- doesnt explain excess deaths due to things other than starvation = disease?
- doesnt talk about intra family entitlements = who has the power = young and old will die first
- theory focused on individuals - what about hhs
- doesnt explore connection between entitlements and poverty
what is effective demand failure
people starve because they cant afford to buy food from well functioning markets = entitlement failure
what is market failure
traders fail to respond to signals of effective demand or prices rise excessively due to
traders dont supply the consumer demand
market fragmentation
speculation/hoarding
what are the 2 market failures
market fragmentation
- prices are higher in one town because hard to transport
speculation and hoarding
- farmers hoard produce in hopes price will go up
policy implications for the 2 failures that cause famine
effective demand failure
- transfer food/cash
pure market failure = government needs to substitute for market
- move food into affected areas
why do sharp price movements matter
people dependent on markets for food
large increase in prices = plunged into starvation set
- modest supply decline can escalate into critical demand - selling assets
why does market distance matter
- Desai = the more markets you have to go throughto convert endowments into consumption the more vulnerable you are
- farmers least vulnerable
what is market dependence profit motive and inequality
- profit maximising worsens famine
- explains why poor suffer the most = only wealthy can afford high food prices
- increases inequalities = poor transfer assets at low prices to rich, sell assets, work for lower wages
what are the market response failures
hoarding and speculation
hoarding = precautionary savings = wants to protect
speculation = will save to sell = make money
why is hoarding bad
- artificial scarcities
- raises prices
why hoarding can cause overreactions
1974 Bangladesh famine
- floods cause minor shortfall in rice production
- prices rise due to overly pessimistic prediction in the press
- mislead by misaccurate information
- prices doubled in 5 months
- hoarding and speculating
famine man made - priced poor out of the market
how are pessimistic expectations self fulfilling
- if you expect price increase and hold crops
- you holding crops itself will increase price s
- small farmers consume morr = further reducing supply
why do prices rise
- farmers speculate
- small farmers hoard - inflation means they might not want to convert goods into cash
- will only sell what they need to to survive = keep rest
- farmers might also demand food
- selling assets increases price
fragmented markets what are they
neoclassical = food supply falls, price increases, more people will come to the market and sell , until price falls back
- depends on market integration
what are the 2 contributions to famine via Fragmented markets
- transport
- spatial price differentials
fragmented markets role of transport networks
