Fao Economic And Social Development Paper

This paper investigates the effect of undernourishment on economic growth. In addition to the basic relationship on health, a number of other important relationships are investigated: (a) regional differences regarding the impact of under-nourishment on growth; (b) the impact that possible errors in measuring nutritional variables may have on the robustness of the estimated nutrition-growth relationship; and (c) the existence of "nutritional traps", i.e. the vicious circle of low nutrition-low economic growth-low nutrition. The basic conclusion of the paper - that undernourishment can be a serious handicap in the efforts of countries to achieve economic growth - suggests that actions taken to feed the hungry have a strong growth dimension in addition to their humanitarian character.

Agriculture, in addition to producing food, hides and fibre, also provides many other goods and services not priced in the market. These include environmental outputs such as rural amenities and disamenities, but also social and cultural functions. The economic value of these non-market goods and services of agriculture can be assessed by estimating how much purchasing power people would be willing to give up to acquire those outputs if they were forced to make a choice. The contingent valuation method (CVM) is one of the most widely used methodologies developed for the measurement of the value of non-market goods.

Includes 8 papers by various authors.

All men and women are subject to risk: illness, accident, death. Some shocks affect their ability to feed and support themselves properly, either temporarily: unemployment, crop failure, and loss of property; or permanently: disability, and skill obsolescence.This report summarises what is known and also what is not known about the sources of risk faced by the rural poor and their coping strategies. It examines the impact of risk and risk-coping strategies on development and the way in which governments and international organisations can assist in dealing with risk and overcoming poverty.