This review draws together evidence from field studies on the effects of high food prices and compares this evidence with the predictions made at the beginning of the 2007–08 price spike.
Blaming speculation on futures markets for volatility in world food prices risks neglecting the crucial challenges facing global agriculture in the coming years, says ODI research fellow Steve Wiggins in an ODI blog and video interview.
When world food prices shot up in 2007-8, lots of countries hastened to put in place emergency policy measures ranging from food export bans to food vouchers many of which were quite different from well-meaning advice they were given by economists and international agencies. How did it all pan out? This blog discusses early findings from an ODI study and workshop.