Advance Fellows Award: The WTO and Food Aid:Preserving Humanitarian and Developmental Benefits

世界贸易组织正在进行谈判，以减少农业贸易的壁垒和补贴。出现了一项关键的提议，可能会取消捐助方，特别是美国，向欠发达国家和发展中国家提供非紧急粮食实物援助的能力。目前，三分之一的项目粮食援助在受援国市场上出售，筹集的资金用于资助各种发展项目，包括但不限于旨在提高粮食安全的项目。然而，出售的粮食援助可能会对当地商品价格产生不利影响，由此导致的价格低迷和不稳定可能会抑制农业生产。许多受援国正努力增加农业生产，以加强粮食安全和增加出口收入。本研究将评估(1)货币化粮食援助对发展中国家市场的影响和可能对农业生产的抑制作用；(2)货币化粮食援助筹集的资金所赞助的项目的收益。该项目将开发相关模型，收集选定国家的价格和市场数据，并估计货币化对案例研究市场和农业部门的影响。这个分析将在一个权衡框架中呈现给决策者，这是一个高度直观的图形分析。这将使他们能够评估市场影响和发展项目的社会效益，并做出相应的选择。这一分析将是制定世贸组织规则的重要投入，这些规则将维护受影响国家所重视的人道主义和发展利益。本研究将扩展PI对20世纪90年代粮食援助的实证评估。PI开发和实证检验的粮食援助模型分析了粮食援助捐赠与需求之间的关系。不同的模型描述了粮食援助与(1)由于生产不足造成的需求和(2)由于缺乏获得食物而体现为长期饥饿的需求之间的关系。PI的研究重点是经济一体化的内在问题。PI的研究项目探讨了国内政策目标的实现与贸易自由化之间的紧张关系，并调查了政策和制度对市场的影响以及由此产生的福利后果。该项目的目标是获得蒙大拿州立大学的终身职位。在这个职位上，她可以更有效地参与学校的教学和研究任务，并参与围绕经济一体化问题的公开辩论和政策讨论。她开发并教授了“经济全球化问题”的试点课程，并建议进一步开发该课程的网络平台。这一课程是更广泛的影响之一，因为它将为PI提供一个基础，以便与许多寻求加强对这些问题理解的政府和非政府实体进行接触。研究结果将提交给学术听众和多边机构的研究人员和决策者。在发展中国家开展工作将增强PI与这些国家的同事形成研究合作的能力。这也将提高她为密歇根州立大学的国际研究工作做出贡献的能力，其中许多研究涉及多个学科。终身职位对于在该学科的主要研究论坛中发挥影响力以及指导女性研究生和学者至关重要。

The World Trade Organization is conducting negotiations to reduce barriers and subsidies foragricultural trade. A key proposal has emerged that could eliminate the ability of donors,particularly the United States, to give non-emergency food aid in-kind to less developed anddeveloping countries. Currently, one-third of project food aid is sold on recipient country marketsand the funds raised are used to finance a wide variety of development projects, including but notlimited to projects designed to increase food security. However, the food aid sold can have adetrimental impact on local commodity prices, and the resulting price depression and instabilitycan be a disincentive for agricultural production. Many recipient countries are trying to increasetheir agricultural production with the goal of enhancing their food security and increasing theirexport earnings. This research will evaluate (1) the impact of monetized food aid ondeveloping country markets and possible disincentives to agricultural production and (2) thebenefits from the projects sponsored by the funds raised from the monetized food aid. The PI willdevelop relevant models, collect price and market data in selected countries, and estimate theimpact of monetization on case study markets and agricultural sectors. This analysis will bepresented to decision makers in a tradeoffs framework, a highly intuitive graphical analysis. Thiswill enable them to value the social benefits of the market impacts and the development projectsand make corresponding choices. This analysis will be a critical input to the development of WTO rules that preserve the humanitarian and developmental benefits valued by affected countries.This research will extend the PI's empirical evaluation of food aid in the 1990s. Themodels of food aid the PI developed and empirically tested analyze the relationship between foodaid donations and need. Separate models portray the relationship between food aid and (1) needdue to production shortfalls and (2) need as embodied in chronic hunger due to lack of access tofood. The PI's research focus is on issues inherent in economic integration. The PI's researchprogram explores the tension between the realization of domestic policy goals and tradeliberalization and has investigated the impact of policies and institutions on markets and theresulting welfare consequences. The PI's goal with this ADVANCE Fellow Award is to obtain a tenure track position at Montana State University. In this position, she can more effectively participate in the teaching and research mission of the University and engage in the public debate and policy discussion focused on issues due to economic integration. She has developed and taught a pilot class on "Issues of Economic Globalization" and proposes to further develop a web-based platform for this course. This curriculum is one of the broader impacts, as it will provide a basis for the PI to outreach to the many government and non-government entities seeking an enhanced understanding of these issues. The research results will be presented to both academic audiences and to researchers and decision makers in multilateral institutions. Working in developing countries will enhance the PI's ability to form research collaborations with colleagues in these countries. It will also increase her ability to contribute to international research efforts at MSU, many of which involve multiple disciplines. A tenure track position is vital for the PI to be influential in her discipline's leading research forum and to mentor female graduate students and academics.