A Geospatial Analysis of Food Insecurity Among Refugee Households in Lebanon Using Machine Learning Techniques

Angela Lyons (), Josephine Kass-Hanna (), Deepika Pingali (), Aiman Soliman (), David Zhu (), Yifang Zhang () and Alejandro Castano ()
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Angela Lyons: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Josephine Kass-Hanna: IESEG School of Management, Univ. Lille
Deepika Pingali: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Aiman Soliman: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
David Zhu: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Yifang Zhang: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Alejandro Castano: Colombian Directorate of Taxes and Customs (DIAN), Bogotá

No 1729, Working Papers from Economic Research Forum

Abstract: This study integrates geospatial analysis with machine learning to understand the interplay and spatial dependencies among various indicators of food insecurity. Combining household survey data and novel geospatial data on Syrian refugees in Lebanon, we explore why certain food security measures are effective in specific contexts while others are not. Our findings indicate that geolocational indicators significantly influence food insecurity, often overshadowing traditional factors like household socio-demographics and living conditions. This suggests a shift in focus from labor-intensive socioeconomic surveys to readily accessible geospatial data. The study also highlights the variability of food insecurity across different locations and subpopulations, challenging the effectiveness of individual measures like FCS, HDDS, and rCSI in capturing localized needs. By disaggregating the dimensions of food insecurity and understanding their distribution, humanitarian and development organizations can better tailor strategies, directing resources to areas where refugees face the most severe food challenges. From a policy perspective, our insights call for a refined approach that improves the predictive power of food insecurity models, aiding organizations in efficiently targeting interventions.

Pages: 45
Date: 2024-09-20, Revised 2024-09-20
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-ara, nep-big, nep-cmp and nep-mig
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