Income and Price Elasticities of Food Demand and Nutrient Consumption in Malawi

Widespread malnutrition in developing countries calls for appropriate interventions, presupposing good knowledge about the nutritional impacts of policies. Little previous work has been carried out in this direction. We present a comprehensive analytical framework, which we apply for Malawi. Using household data and a demand systems approach, we estimate income and price elasticities of food, calorie, and micronutrient consumption. These estimates are used for policy simulations. Given multiple nutrient deficiencies, income-related policies are better suited than price policies to improve nutrition. While consumer subsidies for maize increase calorie and mineral consumption, they contribute to a higher prevalence of vitamin deficiencies.quadratic almost ideal demand system, food security, micronutrient malnutrition, calorie elasticities, nutrient elasticities, Malawi, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Analyzing nutritional impacts of policies

Widespread malnutrition in developing countries calls for appropriate strategies, presupposing good knowledge about nutritional impacts of policies. Little previous work has been carried out in this direction, especially with respect to micronutrients. We use representative household data from Malawi and develop a demand systems approach to estimate income and price elasticities of food demand and nutrient consumption. These estimates are applied for policy simulations. Given multiple nutritional deficiencies, income-related policies are better suited than price policies to improve nutrition. Although consumer price subsidies for maize improve calorie and mineral consumption, they can worsen vitamin consumption in urban areas.income and price elasticities, micronutrient deficiency, nutrient consumption, quadratic almost ideal demand system,

Petroleum subsidies in Yemen : leveraging reform for development

Petroleum subsidy reform is increasingly seen as an opportunity for consolidating public finances and fostering sustainable economic development. Yemen, as the country with the lowest per capita income in the group of countries with a high level of energy subsidies, started to reduce subsidies in 2010 and is discussing further options for reform. The results of this paper support a comprehensive petroleum subsidy reform in Yemen. Economic growth is projected to accelerate between 0.1 and 0.8 percentage points annually as a result of reform. Yet, the design of the reform is critically important, especially for the poor. Outcomes of alternative reform scenarios range from an increase in poverty of 2 to 6 percentage points. A promising strategy combines subsidy reduction with direct transfers of 13,800 to 19,700 Yemeni rials annually to the poorest 30 percent of households and enhanced public investments. Investments should focus on the utilities, transport, trade, and construction sectors to integrate economic spaces and create the platform for a restructuring of agricultural, industrial, and service value chains, which should encourage private sector led and job creating growth in the medium term.Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Economic Theory&Research,Emerging Markets,Access to Finance,Rural Poverty Reduction

Petroleum subsidies in Yemen: Leveraging reform for development

Petroleum subsidy reform is increasingly seen as an opportunity for consolidating public finances and fostering sustainable economic development. Yemen, as the country with the lowest per capita income in the group of countries with a high level of energy subsidies, started to reduce subsidies in 2010 and is discussing further options for reform. The results of this paper support a comprehensive petroleum subsidy reform in Yemen. Economic growth is projected to accelerate between 0.1 and 0.8 percentage points annually as a result of reform. Yet, the design of the reform is critically important, especially for the poor. Outcomes of alternative reform scenarios range from an increase in poverty of 2 to 6 percentage points. A promising strategy combines subsidy reduction with direct transfers of 13,800 to 19,700 Yemeni rials annually to the poorest 30 percent of households and enhanced public investments. Investments should focus on the utilities, transport, trade, and construction sectors to integrate economic spaces and create the platform for a restructuring of agricultural, industrial, and service value chains, which should encourage private sector led and job creating growth in the medium term.Development strategies, Growth, petroleum subsidy, Poverty, Reform,

Patterns and determinants of dietary micronutrient deficiencies in rural areas of East Africa

Micronutrient malnutrition is a large public health problem in many developing countries, but its dimensions and determinants are not yet clearly understood, especially with respect to sub- Saharan Africa. Based on 24-hour recall data from rural households in Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, this study analyzes dietary patterns to provide a comprehensive picture of the risk of micronutrient deficiencies, with particular emphasis on bioavailable vitamin A, iron and zinc intakes. The results confirm that micronutrient deficiencies are widespread and positively correlated with calorie deficiency. Regression analysis suggests that income growth will bring about important nutritional improvements. However, more targeted interventions are needed, especially for controlling vitamin A deficiency. Promising avenues include basic education, women empowerment, promotion of home gardens, awareness campaigns and vitamin A biofortification. Spatial differences within and across regions indicate that detailed knowledge of local conditions is imperative for designing and targeting effective food and nutrition policies.micronutrient deficiency, determinants, nutrient intake, dietary patterns, East Africa, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Food as the basis for development and security: A strategy for Yemen

Yemen has been facing severe development challenges in recent years, but rapidly depleting oil and water resources combined with large population increases and a lack of job-creating growth are making a difficult situation even more complicated. In order to provide opportunities for Yemenis to escape the current situation of widespread poverty and food insecurity, the Government of the Republic of Yemen, under the leadership of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, has developed a strategy to help all Yemeni people gain access to sufficient and nutritious foods in order to live active, productive, and healthy lives. The main objectives of the National Food Security Strategy, developed with the support of the International Food Policy Research Institute, are to (1) cut food insecurity by one-third by 2015, (2) reach moderate food security levels—meaning 90 percent of people have enough to eat year-round—by 2020, and (3) reduce child malnutrition by at least one percentage point per year. As a contribution to this process, the authors of this paper identify seven priority actions to help achieve these goals. 1. Leverage the fuel-subsidy reform process to promote food security. 2. Improve the business climate to foster pro-food-secure private investments in promising sectors. 3. Use qat reduction policies to enhance agricultural development. 4. Strengthen food security risk-management practices. 5. Implement the water-sector strategy decisively. 6. Target public investment to the food insecure more accurately and improve service provision, especially in rural areas. 7. Launch high-level awareness campaigns for family planning, healthy nutrition, and women's empowerment. The government, civil society groups, and international partners need to quickly, decisively, and jointly implement these seven actions in order to fulfill the strategic goals. The implementation process is likely to be most effective if conducted in a transparent and inclusive manner with effective follow-up and appropriate monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.food security, Poverty, Economic development,

Climate change and floods in Yemen: Impacts on food security and options for adaptation

This paper uses both a global and local perspective to assess the impacts of climate change on the Yemeni economy, agriculture, and household income and food security. The major impact channels of climate change are through changing world food prices as a result of global food scarcities, long-term local yield changes as a result of temperature and rainfall variations, and damages and losses of cropland, fruit trees, livestock, and infrastructure as a result of natural disasters such as recurrent storms and floods. Moreover, spatial variation in climate change impacts within Yemen means that such effects can vary across subnational regions. We develop a recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium (DCGE) model with six agroecological zones to capture linkages between climate change, production, and household incomes. We also capture changes in per capita calorie consumption in response to changing household expenditure for assessing changes in people's hunger situation as a measure for food security. Given the high uncertainty surrounding future global food prices and local yields, all simulations are run under two global climate scenarios. The results of the CGE simulations suggest that climate-change-induced higher global prices for food will lower Yemen's overall GDP growth, raise agricultural GDP, decrease real household incomes, and increase the number of hungry people. Local impacts of climate change are different for the two climate scenarios. Overall, the long-term implications of climate change (local and global) lead to a total accumulated reduction of household welfare of between US$5.7 and$9.2 billion by 2050 under MIR or CSI conditions, respectively. Moreover, between 80,000 and 270,000 people could go hungry due to climate change. Rural households are harder hit than urban households, and among the rural households the non-farm households suffer most. This household group is projected to lose an accumulated 3.5 to 5.7 billion US$ as a consequence of longer term climate change by 2050. In addition to the longer-term climate change effects, climate variability is shown to induce heavy economic losses and spikes in food insecurity. The impact assessment of the October 2008 tropical storm and floods in the Wadi Hadramout puts the total cumulated real income loss over the period 2008-12 at 180 percent of pre-flood agricultural value added. Due to the direct flood loss, farmers in the flooding areas suffer most in the year of the flood occurrence, where the percentage of hungry people living from farming spiked by about 15 percentage points as an immediate result of the flood. Action to mitigate the negative effects of climate change and variability should to be taken on the global and local level. A global action plan for improving food security combined with a better integration of climate change in national development strategies, agricultural and rural policies, and disaster risk management and social protection policies will be keys for improving the resilience of Yemen and Yemenis to climate change.Climate change, Development, flood, food security, Growth, Hunger,

Vitamin A and iron consumption and the role of indigenous vegetables: a household level analysis in the Philippines

Micronutrient malnutrition is a public health problem in many regions of the developing world. Severe vitamin A and iron deficiencies are of particular concern due to their high prevalence and their serious, multiple health effects on humans. This paper examines dietary patterns and nutrient intakes, as well as their socioeconomic determinants among households in the Philippines. Since promotion of indigenous vegetables is often considered as an avenue to reduce micronutrient malnutrition, special emphasis is placed on analyzing the contribution of this particular food group to household vitamin A and iron intakes. We use a sample consisting of 172 resource-poor households located in peri-urban areas of Laguna Province. A 24-hour food consumption recall allows for detailed, meal-specific examination of diets. Results of the dietary analysis suggest that fish is of major importance for vitamin A and iron intakes. But also vegetables, and especially indigenous vegetables, play an essential role for balanced household diets. In order to determine socioeconomic factors influencing vitamin A and iron intakes, we employ an econometric model, which shows that deficiencies are strongly associated with low household incomes and poverty. Thus, poverty alleviation will help reduce the problem of micronutrient malnutrition in the medium and long run. However, in the interim, more targeted interventions will be needed. Our results suggest that promotion of indigenous vegetables can play a role in this respect, especially among the poor, who can often not afford sufficient amounts of animal products

Fünf Jahre Bachelor FH in der Schweiz

Copyright ©Swiss Chemical Society: CHIMIA, 64(7/8), 617-620, 2010, https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2010.617Berufsbefähigung und Praxisorientierung, das sind die Merkmale der Chemiker und Chemikerinnen, die an den vier Fachhochschulen in der Schweiz zu Bachelors of Science ausgebildet werden. Die Ausbildung zum Chemiker ist an den Hochschulen unterschiedlich ausgeprägt und eingebettet. Gemeinsam ist den Programmen die Vermittlung einer soliden theoretischen und praktischen Ausbildung, die auf eine gute Arbeitsmarktfähigkeit der Studierenden abzielt. Die Leichtigkeit, mit der die Absolvierenden Stellen finden, weist darauf hin, dass die erworbenen Kompetenzen von der Industrie nachgefragt werden

Vitamin A and iron consumption and the role of indigenous vegetables: a household level analysis in the Philippines

Micronutrient malnutrition is a public health problem in many regions of the developing world. Severe vitamin A and iron deficiencies are of particular concern due to their high prevalence and their serious, multiple health effects on humans. This paper examines dietary patterns and nutrient intakes, as well as their socioeconomic determinants among households in the Philippines. Since promotion of indigenous vegetables is often considered as an avenue to reduce micronutrient malnutrition, special emphasis is placed on analyzing the contribution of this particular food group to household vitamin A and iron intakes. We use a sample consisting of 172 resource-poor households located in peri-urban areas of Laguna Province. A 24-hour food consumption recall allows for detailed, meal-specific examination of diets. Results of the dietary analysis suggest that fish is of major importance for vitamin A and iron intakes. But also vegetables, and especially indigenous vegetables, play an essential role for balanced household diets. In order to determine socioeconomic factors influencing vitamin A and iron intakes, we employ an econometric model, which shows that deficiencies are strongly associated with low household incomes and poverty. Thus, poverty alleviation will help reduce the problem of micronutrient malnutrition in the medium and long run. However, in the interim, more targeted interventions will be needed. Our results suggest that promotion of indigenous vegetables can play a role in this respect, especially among the poor, who can often not afford sufficient amounts of animal products