Food Security in Asia

Food price volatility is a continuing concern for food security in Asia, but its effects are unlikely to be the same across countries with very different income levels, agricultural systems and exposure to international markets. This thesis examines this relationship through a literature review, an analysis of recent developments in Asia, a case study of food price policies in China, and a cross-country empirical analysis. The empirical sample covers 16 Asian countries between 2012 and 2023, organised into four three-year periods. Food price volatility is calculated from monthly food consumer price data, while the prevalence of undernourishment (PoU) is used as the main food-security indicator. In the regressions, the coefficient on food price volatility remains positive but is not statistically significant. GDP per capita shows a clearer negative relationship with undernourishment in the pooled models. The results therefore do not support a simple direct relationship between price volatility and food insecurity. Rather, the effect of a price shock appears to depend on the conditions through which it reaches households, including purchasing power and the ability of markets and public policies to absorb the shock. The China case provides a practical example of this process through grain reserves, producer support, price monitoring and social protection.