Addison, Arndt, Channing, & Tarp, Finn. “The Triple Crisis and the Global Aid Architecture.” African Development Review, 23(4), 461–478. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8268.2011.00299.x

Summary:

The world economy is currently undergoing a significant era of transition. The well-being and prosperity of both the current and upcoming generations are being threatened by the interplay of three global crises. The North is at the center of the financial crisis, which is the urgent cause for alarm. The South is impacted by the financial crisis in a number of ways, including decreased remittances, a decline in private financial flows, and a decline in export demand and price. Due to the financial crisis hunger and malnutrition are on the rise, driven by the recent increase in food costs worldwide. According to the editors above, “A lack of careful planning results in high administrative costs and a large, and often unsustainable, fiscal burden; un-targeted food-subsidies, for example. The fiscal problem is compounded when major shocks reduce the revenue base, endangering the financing of public action, as is now occurring.” In other words, with no planning there is no money for food when problems economically strike. A decrease in the growth of food crop yields when more land is dedicated to the production of biofuels. The cost of production, transportation, and storage can all be impacted by inflation in the agricultural industry. Reduced agricultural output could result from high inflation raising the price of inputs like fertilizer and seeds. Furthermore, inflation can cause supply networks to break down and less food to be available, which raises prices and causes shortages of food. It states “If aid does stall, then it will do so at a time when the crisis is hitting hard at the public finances of poor countries. Tax revenues are down, and debt service is up. This is especially serious in Africa.” Certain governments may decide to impose specific policies, such as price controls, subsidies, or direct support, to help people who are most impacted by inflation in response to growing inflation and affordability concerns. This is especially true when it comes to necessities like food. For low-income individuals and families, these actions can lessen the burden.

Reflection:

This study goes in depth about how the recent global increase in food prices is a major factor contributing to the rise in hunger and malnutrition brought on by the financial crisis. One question I have is will the financial crisis ever end? The answer to this is no, but there is still a slight possibility. In the midst of the financial crisis, the economies of the US and the UK have high household debt-to-GDP ratios. Due to efforts by the corporate and household sectors to reduce debt, consumer demand has decreased and savings rates have increased. In October 2009, US unemployment hit 10.3%, the highest since the early 1980s recession, despite the country’s GDP rebound that year. Until employment picks up, US spending is expected to stay poor. We live in a time where there are endless opportunities to make money, but there is none to be made. Wages are too low so the opportunity is not worth the struggle anymore. Employees wages stay the same yet inflation and taxes go higher. How do we salvage or recover from the falls we have taken when all around us is chaos? Everyday people are struggling to keep their loved ones fed and it’s difficult to face a challenge that our very survival depends on. Hardships are hurting us all yet there is no stop to the problem at hand. This goes hand in hand with the reality being that people everywhere especially children are going hungry in response to all the chaos surrounding us. We are all wondering what’s the clear solution, but maybe there is one or it is a culmination of solutions that will bring us to where we need to be. 

The authors’ sentence structure allowed the studies to be easily understood. The statistics of the studies showed the real GDP growth in the world and major regions and the increase in prices in Africa, the chart just seems to be increasing throughout the years. I think the writers intended audience is the groups of individuals who suffer from food insecurity. 

Quote:

“With more land given over to biofuels, a slowdown in yield growth for food crops (exacerbated by a slump in public investment in agriculture), and rising global demand, food prices have pushed higher, spiking over 2007–2008 (Figure 18). The dollar’s depreciation in 2007–2008 also contributed to the price spike.”