Download Policy Approaches to Undernutrition

Philosophical Approaches to
Undernutrition
Text Extracted from:
The World Food Problem
Leathers & Foster, 2004
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Ethics: Pope John Paul II
• “Contrasts between poverty
and wealth are intolerable
for humanity”
• “It is the task of nations,
their leaders, their economic
powers and all people of
goodwill to seek every
opportunity for a more
equitable sharing of
resources”
– Example of Beneficence
• Personal moral duty to help
the poor
Ethics: Right to Food?
• Right to Food
– Included in International
Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights
– Adopted by UN 1976
– Signed by 85 countries
• Not ratified by U.S.A.
• Now must address hunger
issue
United Nations
– to protect fundamental rights
of society
– Don’t need to feel personal
moral duty to help the poor
Ethics: Right to Food?
• Rights taken very
•
•
•
•
seriously
Absolute entitlement
Non-negotiable
Would require
government to act to
prevent hunger
Conflict with property
rights?
Economist’s Questions
• What is the appropriate
policy for society as a
whole?
• How can government
best manipulate human
greed to achieve its
policy objectives?
Economics Policy Decisions
• Every action has costs and benefits
• Marginal costs and benefits
– For 1% increase in cost, what is the
increase in benefits?
• Ideal decision: where marginal
costs = marginal benefits
• Free market will allocate resources
optimally, but
– Without concern for
• Social costs
• Environmental costs
– Can everything be put in dollar terms?
Externalities
• Costs and benefits
sometimes go to people
outside the market
transaction
– Should poor benefit from
costs borne by wealthy?
– Should wealthy benefit
from costs borne
• By the poor?
• By the environment?
How much would you pay for…
• A human life?
– Airbags in every car?
– Speed limit 10 MPH?
– Nutrition for every man,
woman, and child?
• Food without pesticide
residue?
• No pollution?
• Freedom?
• Fair trade?
Harnessing greed in policy:
economic incentives
• Economic incentives
– More expensive to have children
– More expensive to degrade environment
• Need property rights
• Production increases with reward
– If we eat less, other countries won’t benefit
– Farmers will produce less
• As demand increases, efficiency
increases
– Products made available more cheaply
– Alternatives found
Policy to reduce undernutrition?
• On average, 250
Calories/day would erase
Calorie deficit of hungry
– Cost 35 cents/day/person
– = $6,400 invested at 2%
interest
– Value of Human Life?
• But for 800 million
people, this policy would
– Increase food prices
– Increase environmental
costs of food production
Policies to raise incomes of poor
• Redistribute income from
rich to poor
– Rationale: declining
marginal utility of income
• Rich don’t benefit from a
dollar spent as much as
poor do
– But should incomes be
equalized?
• Improve rate of economic
growth
– Is Globalization beneficial
to developing nations?
Policies to reduce price of food
• Population reduction
– Demand will rise
slower
– Food prices will rise
slower
• Increasing supply
– Research investment
– Loans to farmers
Policies to reduce cost of food
• Price supports
• Sell food to consumers
• Subsidies to farmers
– Both reduce economic
efficiency
– Therefore distortionary
• Corrective price policies
– Example: correcting distortions
that reduce food output
– Example: To feed hungry has
indirect benefit to wealthy
• We feel better = externality
• No market for this