Contribution in an anthology

Appeared in: Food security and innovations : successes and lessons learned

Editor list: Heidhues, F; Fadani, A

Publication year: 1997

Pages: 523-537

ISBN: 3-631-32826-5

Abstract: 
Food security features continuously on policy agendas world-wide and great efforts have been made to implement policies to improve food security. Analysts have been unable to associate the policy impact with food security and related socio-economic conditions. To analyze socio-economic preconditions in which food security policies operate, it becomes inevitable to identify those policies which could improve the nutritional status of a poverty-stricken population. In particular conditions improving health, sanitation, agricultural practices, towards improving peoples' food status directly, or enable them to cope with perennial or temporary hunger indirectly.By applying canonical correlation latent variable models, unobservable socioeconomic variables, such as preconditions for food security, and observable manifested variables can be measured simultaneously. The approach combines various indicator variables that illuminate peoples' food security and health situation on the one hand, and performance indicators that describe farming, technology and economic factors, as well as conditions of the broader social exchange system on the other hand. A hypothetical correlation matrix of suggested indicator variables is used to demonstrate the potential of the proposed methodology. Policy effects between indicator variables are measured simultaneously to address the causal links in the food security debate. The iterative methodology used, has the advantage of addressing interactive links between the suggested socio-economic variables influencing society. The canonical coefficients can be used to describe causalities between policy impact and above-mentioned preconditions.

Harvard Citation style: Sartorius von Bach, H. and Nuppenau, E. (1997) Measuring causal links between policy impact, food security and socio-economic conditions, in Heidhues, F. and Fadani, A. (eds.) Food security and innovations : successes and lessons learned. Peter Lang Verlag, pp. 523-537

APA Citation style: Sartorius von Bach, H., & Nuppenau, E. (1997). Measuring causal links between policy impact, food security and socio-economic conditions. In Heidhues, F., & Fadani, A. (Eds.), Food security and innovations : successes and lessons learned (pp. 523-537). Peter Lang Verlag.