The Political Economy of Hunger

WIDER

The World Institute for Development Economics Research, established in 1984, started work in Helsinki in 1985, with the financial support of the Government of Finland. The principal purpose of the Institute is to help identify and meet the need for policy-oriented socio-economic research on pressing global and development problems and their inter-relationships. WIDER's research projects are grouped into three main themes: hunger and poverty; money, finance, and trade; and development and technological transformation.

Volume II deals with famine prevention, paying particular attention to sub-Saharan Africa. The topics covered include: the problems of early warning and early action; the politics of famine prevention; the influence of market responses; the role of cash support and employment provision in protecting threatened food entitlements; and long-term issues of reduction of famine vulnerability.

In addition to general analyses, the book contains a number of case studies of failures and successes in famine prevention, both in South Asia and in sub-Saharan Africa.

Readership: Development and agricultural economists; political economists; those working in public bodies at national and international levels concerned with the management of food and health resources.

Edited by Jean Drèze, Delhi School of Economics, and Amartya Sen, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge

"`Sen and his associates deserve a lot of credit for bucking the general trend.' Times Higher Education Supplement"

"`the authors are highly respected and the series draws on an extraordinary data base and comparison between countries. Bringing all this together is Amartya Sen. Lamont University Professor at Harvard, who has an unparalleled reputation for his work on famine, equity, and development economics ... This series forms the most definitive recent analysis of the problems of hunger and deprivation in the three continents of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The range of issues and countries covered is nothing short of extraordinary.' Dissent"

"'This is an uncommonly fine collection of papers by prominent authors. A valuable addition to upper-division undergraduate and graduate collections in development economics.' C.L. Nelson, Davidson College, CHOICE, Dec '91"

"'The volumes will become a standard reference for research in the field of hunger, famines and poverty and some of the papers are appropriate for reading lists in under- and post-graduate courses. The value of the approach to famine and hunger developed by Sen and Dreze ultimately lies in case studies.' Athar Hussain, London School of Economics, The Economic Journal, Dec '91"

"'a considerable, and highly stimulating contribution' Pramit Chaudhuri, University of Sussex, The Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 28, No. 2, Jan '92"

"'Unquestionably the most satisfying book - although on a very grim subject - that I read this year is the two-volume The Political Economy of Hunger edited by Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze.' Indian Review of Books, Oct. '92"

"'This is obviously an important book with immediate implications for countless lives. Those who choose not to turn its pages will be deprived of an intellectual treat.' John Komlos, University of Pittsburgh, Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. XXX (September 1992)"

"'The array of articles in all three Drèze and Sen volumes is astounding.' Thomas R. DeGregori, University of Houston, Africa Today, 4th Quarter 1992"

"'the most ambitious treatment of the intertwined issues of hunger, famines and well-being currently in print ... Drèze and Sen's collection is a massive achievement and will doubtless become an obligatory reference for every student on the subject. Certain essays, notably those by Jean Drèze himself, should also become obligatory reading for all practitioners in the field.' Development and Change, Vol. 24 (1993)"

"A must for the study of poverty and famine." - Arabsheibani, London School of Economics