Why Identifying Households by Degree of Food Insecurity Matters for Policymaking

Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, Mireya Vilar-Compte and Pablo Gaitán-Rossi

No fhw26, SocArXiv from Center for Open Science

Abstract: Experience-based household food insecurity (HFI) indicators can be used to rank households across the continuum of levels of severity of HFI. However, studies have not closely examined if there is value for policymakers to receive information on all or just some of the HFI levels. We examined peer reviewed and gray literature reports to answer this question. Reporting on different HFI levels is key for targeting and evaluating policies and programs. In addition, there are dose-response or curvilinear relationships between HFI levels and diverse physical and mental health outcomes, and early childhood development indicators. The process of introduction of HFI experience-based measures in Latin America improved the understanding of the meaning of different HFI levels among policymakers, media and population at large. Findings strongly suggest that HFI can only be properly understood and addressed by assessing and reporting on all levels of HFI at the local, provincial, national, regional and global levels. Tracking and reporting secular trends of different HFI levels is key during major economic shocks and public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Date: 2020-10-27
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:socarx:fhw26

DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/fhw26

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