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Foreign Aid and Consumption Smoothing: Evidence From Global Food Aid
Author: Mr. Erwin H Tiongson, Mr. Benedict J. Clements, and Mr. Sanjeev Gupta
Series:
IMF Working Papers
Volume/Issue:
Volume 2003: Issue 040
Language:
English
Publication Date:
01 Feb 2003
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451845990.001
ISBN:
9781451845990
ISSN:
1018-5941
Pages:
26
Keywords:
WP; Food aid; foreign aid; counterpart funds; consumption smoothing; food aid flow; program food aid; food aid disbursement; vis-à-vis country; food aid allocation; food aid sale; food aid program; emergency food aid; Food security; Aid flows; Consumption; Food production; Global; Sub-Saharan Africa
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IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.
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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.
Cover IMF Working Papers
IMF Working Papers
ISSN:
1018-5941
Publisher:
International Monetary Fund