International Economics: IB Economics

The Economist looks at how the war in Ukraine is on the point of precipitating a global food crisis, with 800m people already going to bed hungry every night. 

However, on top of climate change and the pandemic, which has already reduced wheat output, the war in Ukraine has also had an effect. This clip looks at the systemic weaknesses in the global food system and the extent to which they can be overcome. 

The UN worries that climate change related events are ever more likely to drive up food prices - the risks range from forest fires to energy outages making it harder to store fresh food. However, there are a number of ways that these effects can be mitigated. 

That said, it rather implies that food security might diminish going forward, and that has adverse developmental impacts. 

Will Hutton argues that the Ukraine conflict has laid bare the dangers inherent in globalisation, and that this might be something that we need to bear in mind going forward. 

Global supply chains have collapsed - in food production and in manufacturing - and it's clearly going to take time to overcome. 

One of Ukraine's largest food producers has explained why its collapse would have catastrophic effects: in the short-term for the war; in the longer-term for the global economy. It's a salutory tale and illustrates why Ukraine has a pivotal role in certain markets, notably grain and sunflower oil.

This BBC piece looks at the impact of the pandemic on Europe's food producers. Fishermen have stopped going to sea because a fall in demand for fish has driven down the price of fish, elsewhere cheese is rotting, there's a mountain of potatoes and the asparagus harvest is poor. 

Lots to think about - food producers making losses and the potential implications of this for Europe's food security.

This Observer piece highlights how the Russia blockade of the Black Sea has implications for global food security - to the extent that many people talk of food production being 'weaponised'.

Joseph Stiglitz argues that Davos 2022 represents another missed opportunity - yet another - to reflect on the existing global order and it's weaknesses. He argues that, in part, this reveals the myopia of an organisation still uncritically committed to globalisation but with little willingness to tackle the structural issues that remain. 

He highlights broken global supply chains, issues with food and energy production and an intellectual property regime that has allowed pharmaceutical companies to profit from the pandemic. Does the new world order need to go beyond the previous model and re-invent itself. 

My heart sinks when 'scooping' a George Monbiot article, but this is worth a read nonetheless, looking as it does at whether we are on the brink of a global food crisis akin to the 2008 financial crisis.

He argues that the structure of the industry and the degree of concentration are likely to mean that should one sector of the food industry collapse it would trigger further difficulties for other sectors, magnifying the extent of the crisis. 

This World Bank clip looks at how we might need to alter the way in which we produce food, to make it more efficient, guarantee increased food security  and to reduce the adverse effects of food production on the environment across the globe. 

I did mention this issue right at the very start of the coronavirus outbreak: the implications of a large-scale shutdown of key sectors of the economy, like food production, could have significant adverse consequences for economic welfare. 

In this case, there's concern about food security in the United States as a number of meat producers are having to close their plants - however, an unintended consequence might be that it improves the diet of the average American.