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Food Insecurity Individual Experience: A Comparison of Economic and Social Characteristics of the Most Vulnerable Groups in the World

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  • Elena Grimaccia

    (Istat, National Institute for Statistics
    Roma Tre University)

  • Alessia Naccarato

    (Roma Tre University)

Abstract

Being at the core of sustainable growth, food insecurity is one of the most important issues in determining a country’s level of development. The first aim of this paper is to compare food insecurity in different subpopulations across countries. The second goal is to assess which factors affect individual food insecurity in the world, while taking into account the level of a country’s development. This has not been possible until very recently. Through the FAO Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) module of the Gallup World Poll, the same information has been collected with an identical methodology and instrument all over the world of more than 150 thousand individuals from 147 countries. Food insecurity presents marked differences depending on the level of development of the country under consideration. To take this into account, countries have been grouped together using a cluster analysis, based on the indicators from the UN Human Development Index. The model was estimated by means of an ordered logistic regression, both at the global level and for each group of countries. The model permits identification of the economic, social, and demographic characteristics related to food insecurity. Level of education, composition and number of children in the household, and location of dwellings had a significant impact on the risk of food insecurity. These results provide valuable insight into the phenomenon and can support policies aimed at ending hunger and improving the well-being of population.

Suggested Citation

  • Elena Grimaccia & Alessia Naccarato, 2019. "Food Insecurity Individual Experience: A Comparison of Economic and Social Characteristics of the Most Vulnerable Groups in the World," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(1), pages 391-410, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:143:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s11205-018-1975-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-018-1975-3
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    Cited by:

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    2. Hanna Dudek & Joanna Myszkowska-Ryciak, 2022. "Food Insecurity in Central-Eastern Europe: Does Gender Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, April.
    3. Musibau, Hammed & Yanotti, Maria & Vespignani, Joaquin & Rabindra, Nepal, 2021. "Environmental performance in the West African economy: MM-quantile and 2SLS approach," Working Papers 2021-05, University of Tasmania, Tasmanian School of Business and Economics.
    4. Elena Grimaccia & Alessia Naccarato, 2022. "Food Insecurity in Europe: A Gender Perspective," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 649-667, June.
    5. Hanna Dudek & Joanna Myszkowska-Ryciak, 2020. "The Prevalence and Socio-Demographic Correlates of Food Insecurity in Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-16, August.
    6. Emma Beacom & Sinéad Furey & Lynsey Hollywood & Paul Humphreys, 2022. "Food Insecurity Measurement: Stakeholder Comparisons of the EU-SILC and HFSSM Indicators and Considerations Towards the Usefulness of a Headline Indicator," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 162(3), pages 1021-1041, August.
    7. Nicholson, Charles F. & Stephens, Emma C. & Kopainsky, Birgit & Jones, Andrew D. & Parsons, David & Garrett, James, 2021. "Food security outcomes in agricultural systems models: Current status and recommended improvements," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    8. Elena Grimaccia & Alessia Naccarato, 2020. "Confirmatory factor analysis to validate a new measure of food insecurity: perceived and actual constructs," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 54(4), pages 1211-1232, August.
    9. Ahmed Raza Cheema & Adeel Saleem & Hubert Visas & Jabbar Ul-Haq, 2022. "Role of Education, Age, and Family Size on Food Insecurity in Pakistan: A Quantile Regression Analysis," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(5), pages 2576-2597, October.
    10. Hanna Dudek & Joanna Myszkowska-Ryciak & Agnieszka Wojewódzka-Wiewiórska, 2021. "Profiles of Food Insecurity: Similarities and Differences across Selected CEE Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-19, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Food insecurity; Self-reported scale; Cluster analysis; Ordered logistic regression;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • F63 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Economic Development
    • C35 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions
    • C38 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Classification Methdos; Cluster Analysis; Principal Components; Factor Analysis

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