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In addressing the pervasive problem of hunger in the developing world, reliable information on food insecurity is essential for effectively targeting assistance, developing interventions, and evaluating progress. Yet arriving at an accurate and comparable measure of food insecurity remains a challenge. This report introduces new estimates of food insecurity based on food acquisition data collected as part of national household expenditure surveys (HESs). The report explores the extent and location of food insecurity, the scientific merit of estimates derived from HES food data, the differences between HES-based estimates and those reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and—ultimately—how HES data can be used to improve the accuracy of the FAO estimates currently used to monitor progress toward reducing hunger.

Lisa Smith is a research consultant focusing on the causes of hunger and malnutrition in developing countries and the measurement of global food security. At the time of contributing to this report, Smith was a research fellow in the Food Consumption and Nutrition Division of the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, D.C.

Harold Alderman is lead human development economist with the World Bank, Washington, D.C. His research focuses on the Africa region, primarily relating to the economics of nutrition and food policy.

Dede Aduayom is currently undertaking a Ph.D. degree at the Paris School of Economics. At the time of contributing to this report she was a research analyst in the Food Consumption and Nutrition Division of the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, D.C.

The abstract and report are available for download in PDF format as an entire document or by chapter.

• Full Report
  (PDF 1.2M)
• Abstract
  (PDF 40K)

• Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures, List of Boxes, Foreword, Acknowledgments, and Summary
  (PDF 85K)
• Chapter 1: Introduction
  (PDF 40K)
• Chapter 2: Conceptual and Empirical Basis for Measures of Food Insecurity
  (PDF 85K)
• Chapter 3: Data and Methods
  (PDF 94K)
• Chapter 4: Estimates of Food Insecurity
  (PDF 259K)
• Chapter 5: Comparison with FAO Estimates and Related Measures
  (PDF 524K)
• Chapter 6: Evidence on Cross-Country Comparability and Other Reliability Issues
  (PDF 58K)
• Chapter 7: Conclusion
  (PDF 48K)
• Appendix A: Data Sets Not Included in the Study and Reasons Why
  (PDF 39K)
• Appendix B: Data Collection and Processing by Country
  (PDF 101K)
• Appendix C: Standard Errors for Estimates of Food Security Measures
  (PDF 38K)
• Appendix D: Country Food Security Profiles
  (PDF 59K)
• Appendix E: Methods of Estimating Global and Regional Food Energy Deficiency Prevalences when Data Are Not Available for All Countries
  (PDF 42K)
• Appendix F: Differences in Food Security Measures across Total Expenditure Quintiles when Quintiles Are Not Based on Predicted Expenditures
  (PDF 38K)
• References
  (PDF 55K)

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