Distributional consequences of alternative food policies in India

Binswanger, Hans P.; Quizon, Jaime B. 1988. Distributional consequences of alternative food policies in India. In Food subsidies in developing countries: costs, benefits, and policy options. Pinstrup-Andersen, Per (Ed.) Chapter 22. Pp. 301-322. Baltimore, MD: Published for the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) by Johns Hopkins University Press. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161113

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. Food policy interventions such as food aid, supply-oriented interventions, or ration shops alter the balance of supply and demand for food and can therefore be expected to affect food prices unless they are accompanied by compensating variations in imports or exports. In this chapter, various food policy options in India are investigated, and their direct and indirect effects on consumption via prices and real incomes are examined.