IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/imf/imfwpa/2003-040.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Foreign Aid and Consumption Smoothing: Evidence From Global Food Aid

Author

Listed:
  • Mr. Erwin H Tiongson
  • Mr. Benedict J. Clements
  • Mr. Sanjeev Gupta

Abstract

Global food aid is considered a critical consumption smoothing mechanism in many countries. However, its record of stabilizing consumption has been mixed. This paper examines the cyclical properties of food aid with respect to food availability in recipient countries, with a view to assessing its impact on consumption in some 150 developing countries and transition economies, covering 1970 to 2000. The results show that global food aid has been allocated to countries most in need. Food aid has also been countercyclical within countries with the greatest need. However, for most countries, food aid is not countercyclical. The amount of food aid provided is also insufficient to mitigate contemporaneous shortfalls in consumption. The results are robust to various specifications and filtering techniques and have important implications for macroeconomic and fiscal management.

Suggested Citation

  • Mr. Erwin H Tiongson & Mr. Benedict J. Clements & Mr. Sanjeev Gupta, 2003. "Foreign Aid and Consumption Smoothing: Evidence From Global Food Aid," IMF Working Papers 2003/040, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2003/040
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=16278
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Trueblood, Michael A. & Shapouri, Shahla & Henneberry, Shida Rastegari, 2001. "Policy Options To Stabilize Food Supplies: A Case Study Of Southern Africa," Agricultural Information Bulletins 33703, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    2. Alesina, Alberto & Dollar, David, 2000. "Who Gives Foreign Aid to Whom and Why?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 33-63, March.
    3. Albert Marcet & Morte O. Ravn, "undated". "The HP-Filter in Cross-Country Comparisons," Studies on the Spanish Economy 100, FEDEA.
    4. Lawrence J. Christiano & Terry J. Fitzgerald, 2003. "The Band Pass Filter," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 44(2), pages 435-465, May.
    5. Mr. A. J Hamann & Mr. Ales Bulir, 2001. "How Volatile and Unpredictable Are Aid Flows, and What Are the Policy Implications?," IMF Working Papers 2001/167, International Monetary Fund.
    6. Canova, Fabio, 1999. "Does Detrending Matter for the Determination of the Reference Cycle and the Selection of Turning Points?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(452), pages 126-150, January.
    7. Diven, Polly J., 2001. "The domestic determinants of US food aid policy," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 455-474, October.
    8. Barrett, Christopher B, 2001. "Does Food Aid Stabilize Food Availability?," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 49(2), pages 335-349, January.
    9. Shapouri, Shahla, 1990. "Food Aid: Motivation and Allocation Criteria," Foreign Agricultural Economic Report (FAER) 147994, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    10. Barrett, Christopher B., 2002. "Food security and food assistance programs," Handbook of Agricultural Economics, in: B. L. Gardner & G. C. Rausser (ed.), Handbook of Agricultural Economics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 40, pages 2103-2190, Elsevier.
    11. Sajal Lahiri & Pascalis Raimondos, 1996. "Food Aid and Food Production: A Theoretical Analysis," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: V. N. Balasubramanyam & D. Greenaway (ed.), Trade and Development, chapter 2, pages 22-31, Palgrave Macmillan.
    12. Clay, Daniel C. & Molla, Daniel & Habtewold, Debebe, 1999. "Food aid targeting in Ethiopia: A study of who needs it and who gets it," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 391-409, August.
    13. Shapouri, Shahla & Rosen, Stacey L., 2001. "Food Security and Food Aid Distribution," Agricultural Information Bulletins 33651, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    14. Daphne Taylor & Derek Byerlee, 1991. "Food Aid and Food Security: A Cautionary Note," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 39(2), pages 163-175, July.
    15. Lavy, Victor, 1990. "Does food aid depress food production? The disincentive dilemma in the African context," Policy Research Working Paper Series 460, The World Bank.
    16. Ball, Richard & Johnson, Christopher, 1996. "Political, Economic, and Humanitarian Motivations for PL 480 Food Aid: Evidence from Africa," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(3), pages 515-537, April.
    17. Maxwell, S. J. & Singer, H. W., 1979. "Food aid to developing countries: A survey," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 225-246, March.
    18. Pallage, Stephane & Robe, Michel A, 2001. "Foreign Aid and the Business Cycle," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(4), pages 641-672, November.
    19. Konandreas, Panos, 1987. "Responsiveness of Food Aid in Cereals to Fiuctuations in Supply in Donor and Recipient Countries," 1987 Occasional Paper Series No. 4 197395, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Stéphane Pallage & Michel A. Robe & Catherine Bérubé, 2006. "The Potential of Foreign Aid as Insurance," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 53(3), pages 1-5.
    2. Barrett, Christopher B., 2002. "Food Aid Effectiveness: "It'S The Targeting, Stupid!"," Working Papers 14754, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    3. Kuhlgatz, Christian & Abdulai, Awudu & Barrett, Christopher B., 2009. "Food Aid Allocation Policies: Donor Coordination and Responsiveness to the Needs of Recipient Countries," 2009 Conference, August 16-22, 2009, Beijing, China 51686, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Barrett, Christopher B., 2002. "Food Aid And Commercial International Food Trade," Working Papers 14742, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    2. Jan Fałkowski, 2018. "U.S. food aid and American exports to recipient countries during the Cold War," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(5), pages 659-668, September.
    3. Barrett, C. B. & Heisey, K. C., 2002. "How effectively does multilateral food aid respond to fluctuating needs?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(5-6), pages 477-491.
    4. Bezu, Sosina & Holden, Stein, 2008. "Can food-for-work encourage agricultural production?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 541-549, December.
    5. Linda M. Young & Philip C. Abbott, 2008. "Food Aid Donor Allocation Decisions After 1990," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 56(1), pages 27-50, March.
    6. Barrett, Christopher B., 2002. "Food Aid Effectiveness: "It'S The Targeting, Stupid!"," Working Papers 14754, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    7. Robert K. Fleck & Christopher Kilby, 2006. "World Bank Independence: A Model and Statistical Analysis of US Influence," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(2), pages 224-240, May.
    8. Ferrière, Nathalie & Suwa-Eisenmann, Akiko, 2015. "Does Food Aid Disrupt Local Food Market? Evidence from Rural Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 114-131.
    9. Ms. Era Dabla-Norris & Ms. Camelia Minoiu & Luis-Felipe Zanna, 2010. "Business Cycle Fluctuations, Large Shocks, and Development Aid: New Evidence," IMF Working Papers 2010/240, International Monetary Fund.
    10. Koppenberg, Maximilian & Mishra, Ashok K. & Hirsch, Stefan, 2023. "Food Aid and Violent Conflict: A Review of Literature," IZA Discussion Papers 16574, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Titus O. Awokuse, 2006. "Assessing the Impact of Food Aid on Recipient Countries: A Survey," Working Papers 06-11, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA).
    12. David Fielding & George Mavrotas, 2005. "The Volatility of Aid," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2005-06, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    13. Rand, John & Tarp, Finn, 2002. "Business Cycles in Developing Countries: Are They Different?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(12), pages 2071-2088, December.
    14. Broussard, Nzinga H. & Dercon, Stefan & Somanathan, Rohini, 2014. "Aid and agency in Africa: Explaining food disbursements across Ethiopian households, 1994–2004," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 128-137.
    15. Fleck, Robert K. & Kilby, Christopher, 2010. "Changing aid regimes? U.S. foreign aid from the Cold War to the War on Terror," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 185-197, March.
    16. Jean-Louis COMBES & Rasmané OUEDRAOGO, 2014. "Does Pro-cyclical Aid Lead to Pro-cyclical Fiscal Policy? An Empirical Analysis for Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 201424, CERDI.
    17. Eric Neumayer, 2005. "Is the Allocation of Food Aid Free from Donor Interest Bias?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(3), pages 394-411.
    18. Abdulai, Awudu & Barrett, Christopher B. & Hazell, Peter, 2004. "Food aid for market development in Sub-Saharan Africa," DSGD discussion papers 5, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    19. Christopher B. Barrett & Stein T. Holden & Daniel C. Clay, 2002. "Can Food-for-Work Programmes Reduce Vulnerability?," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2002-24, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    20. Abdulai, Awudu & Barrett, Christopher B. & Hoddinott, John, 2005. "Does food aid Really have disincentive effects? New evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1689-1704, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2003/040. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Akshay Modi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/imfffus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.