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Article Artículo

Local Purchases of Rice as Food Aid Overstated

In addition to the problems of allocating food aid discussed in the previous post, another significant problem is the lack of local procurement, which can be more effective than importing in emergency situations. The U.S. government, which has begun a local and regional procurement pilot project, found in a 2009 study (PDF) that:

Local and regional purchase is an important tool, enabling food aid agencies to respond quickly to emergency food needs, both during and after food crises and disasters.

Local and regional purchase can be a timely and effective complement to in-kind food aid programs.

The pilot project is also “based on the view that local and regional purchase has potential value for strengthening and expanding commercial markets, stimulating local and regional production, and reducing emergency food aid requirements.”  Yet thus far, the pilot project has only limited funds and was undertaken in just 12 countries in 2010 (only seven countries are benefactors of the program in 2011).  Together the 12 country programs made up less than one percent of all U.S. food aid in Fiscal Year 2010.

After the earthquake, noting that Haiti has gone from producing nearly 50 percent of their annual rice consumption in 1988 to around 15 percent now, CEPR published a report on food aid  that proposed “that international donors seeking to support Haiti’s agricultural sector and provide food to those in need could help Haiti become more self-sufficient by” using local procurement to purchase Haitian rice. According to the World Food Program Food Aid Information System, Haiti received over 110,000 metric tons (MT) of rice as food aid in FY2010, with the U.S. providing 57,000 MT of the total. According to the WFP, only about five percent of this came in the form of local procurement, despite the previously discussed advantages. Upon further review, however, even this low number is drastically overstated.

Jake Johnston / November 04, 2011

Article Artículo

Inequality

NYT Misleads on Poverty Trends
In a post yesterday, I wrote that the new poverty measure proposed by the Obama Administration—known as the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM)—likely increases the poverty rate by a modest amount compared with the official rate (less than 1 percent), whil

Shawn Fremstad / November 04, 2011

Article Artículo

#OWS: Freeze or Fade?

The unexpected Halloween storms were the first but certainly won't be the last winter storms to create uncomfortable conditions for the #OWS protesters. Will the cold weather freeze out the movement? Mother Nature may be unpredictable but the movement is looking towards the long-term. On occupywallst.org the protestors are asking for winter donations, bundling up to survive future Nor’easters. To date, #OWS has collected almost half a million dollars in donations, allocating money carefully and democratically. Working groups approved by the #OWS general assembly are allowed to spend $100 a day for expenses such as materials to clean up Zuccotti Park, tents, and medical care. In the name of full transparency and disclosure, #OWS has posted their financial report, complete with the step-by-step process of allocating money, info on the #OWS bank account, and a balance sheet and income statement. The allocation process is monitored by the finance committee, made up of bookkeepers and entrepreneurs, and advised by CPAs. Within a matter of weeks, Zuccotti Park has turned into a democratic micro-economy.

While the movement is preparing to survive the winter season, the mainstream media has lost some interest. As seen in the graph below from a recent PEJ news coverage index report, last week’s coverage of #OWS is about half what it was back in mid-October (down to about 5% of weekly “newshole” coverage, compared to 10% just a few weeks ago). This week’s coverage is up slightly from last week’s, due to the controversial eviction of Occupy Oakland, during which an Iraq war veteran was wounded.

CEPR and Alexandra Mitukiewicz / November 03, 2011