The Political Economy of Hunger

TLDR

Sen argues that despite unprecedented global prosperity, hunger persists because market supply alone is insufficient and solutions must combine market functioning with democratic entitlement mechanisms. The paper proposes that famine prevention requires entitlements, specifically public employment programs that empower vulnerable populations to command food. The authors suggest governments should implement public employment programs and promote democratic participation and a free press to ensure accountability for famine prevention. The study finds that voluntary, democratic approaches, as seen in Kerala, can be as effective or more effective than coercive policies like China’s one-child policy in limiting population growth that contributes to hunger.

Abstract

Sen’s essay concerns the existence of extensive hunger amidst unprecedented global prosperity in the contemporary world, but he argues that the problem would be decisively solvable if our response were no longer shaped by Malthusian pessimism. Effective famine prevention does not turn on food supply per head and the automatic mechanism of the market: there can be plenty of food while large sections of the population lack the means to obtain it. Effective famine prevention thus requires “entitlements.” Economically, governments can and should provide public employment programs so that those threatened by famine can be empowered to command food. Politically, democratic participation and a free press can work to ensure government accountability for famine prevention. The choice that Sen urges, however, is not for the state over the market—the experience of the Indian state of Kerala demonstrates that a voluntaristic approach can work as well or better than China’s compulsory “one child policy” in limiting the rapid population growth that contributes to world hunger. Rather, a reasoned solution to the problem of hunger must acknowledge the complementary importance of both well-functioning markets and open and democratic public action.