The role of the state in providing food subsidies to consumers has a long though sometimes ignoble history.

Macroeconomic and trade implications of consumer-oriented food subsidies.

Governments of most countries attempt to influence the price consumers pay for food. In low-income countries the aim is frequently one of reducing consumer food prices below a free-market level.

The Mexican government has been involved in regulating the prices of staples since the 1930s.1 Formally, the dual objectives of this long-standing intervention have been to protect the rural campesinos (peasants) against speculators and drastic de

Government interventions in foodgrain markets have existed in India in one form or another for about four decades, starting during the Second World War.

The goals of consumer food subsidies vary among countries and over time. Analyses of food subsidies in a number of countries reveal that one or both of two goals are commonly found.

Malnutrition is a problem associated with poverty. Although all poor people are at risk of having an inadequate food intake, it is usually the maternal and preschooler population that are the most nutritionally vulnerable.

When a basic needs approach began to be emphasized in development economics, Sri Lanka gained much prominence due to its long-standing involvement in broad social welfare policies.1 Long before the advent of the basic needs approach, Sri Lanka had

The principal theme of this chapter is the implications of the Egyptian food subsidies for such macroeconomic measures as nonfarm output, the government's budget, inflation, the exchange rate, and the balance of payments.

Brazilian wheat policy as considered in this chapter consists of two relatively separate components: production policies and consumption policies.

An examination of the experience of the various countries operating food subsidies reveals great diversity in the objectives, instruments, and effects of these programs.

Food subsidy is an important element of public policies in Bangladesh.

The organization of maize marketing in Zambia reflects the main objective of the system—supplying urban areas with cheap food. Maize purchased from farmers is sold only to the major milling companies, all of which are located in urban centers.

The social and economic effects of consumer-oriented food subsidies are wide ranging.

The effectiveness and efficiency of a subsidy program depend heavily on the specifics of implementation.

Most governments implement policies or programs, such as food subsidies, to augment the incomes of disadvantaged groups in the population.

A number of large and poor economies such as India, China, and Bangladesh are not open economies but economies where the state controls trade in food and also many nonfood items.

Some of the most important macroeconomic policy implications derived from the studies and policy experience reported in this book were discussed in chapter 23.

Food subsidies affect various sectors of the Egyptian economy, but their influence on agriculture, which employs a considerable share of the nation's resources, seems particularly strong (von Braun and de Haen, 1983).