Database on hunger: outcomes and drivers

Motivation

This research on indicators and drivers will allow drawing conclusions on the key determinants of Food and Nutrition Security and on how various factors affect FNS.

Research set-up and objectives

The core objective is to produce historical and cross-country evidence on the occurrence of hunger and malnutrition and its underlying determinants, with special attention to the effectiveness of local and development aid policies. Thus, this research group will provide new insights into the economic, social and political determinants of food and nutrition security by making use of new datasets and lessons learnt from recent global developments.  

Research approach

A series of updated and new databases and a country typology will be developed. These data will, for the first time, allow an estimation of the impacts of (domestic and global) agricultural policies and political institutions on FNS indicators over a long period of time and across many countries (through a typology of FNS performance and determinants). This research group will conduct a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the determinants of FNS in developing countries as well as of importance and causes of FNS in the EU. Most advanced econometric methods will be used and a special focus will be on the role domestic and international policies can play in mitigating FNS risk.

Outcome

Database (restricted access only).
Two case studies to assess the long-term trends in FNS in two new EU-member state countries (Romania and Slovakia).

Publications

FOODSECURE working paper no. 5
FOODSECURE working paper no. 6

Contact

Nathalie Francken
Katholieke Universiteit (KU) Leuven, Belgium
e-mail: Nathalie.Francken@kuleuven.be