Food Insecurity in Asia: Why Institutions Matter

Abstract

Achieving food security is of utter importance in any nation. However, food insecurity still exists in many developing countries, with Asia home to almost 65% of the world’s undernourished. This calls for urgent action. Studies that examine differences in food security performance among Asian countries are sparse. This book fills this gap by providing cross-country comparative perspectives on food security improvements. Such a study can be valuable for Asian countries to learn from each other. Country studies included in this book are Bangladesh, the People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea, Pakistan, and Singapore. These countries share similarities but also differ in terms of their institutional settings, natural resource endowments, population size, and level of economic development. This study concludes that institutional differences are the most fundamental determinants of divergent food security status. This book will be useful reading for anyone who is interested in food security of individual Asian nations and Asia as a whole, including officials of national governments and international bodies, researchers, and university students.