"The surge in global commodity prices of the past few years has presented a tremendous development challenge for South Asian countries. The large loss of income from the terms of trade shock has worsened macroeconomic balances, fueled rapid inflation, and hurt growth. Although commodity prices...

Food price inflation not only threatens macroeconomic stability but also decreases the welfare levels of most households, especially the poorer ones, for whom food consumption constitutes a relatively large share of total expenditures. This report analyzes the causes and effects of food price...

This report focuses on the impact of policies and exogenous shocks on food inflation. It deals with four elements: 1) the pass-through of global food (and other commodity) prices, 2) macroeconomic policies, 3) market regulation and short-term supply shocks, and 4) long-term structural shifts and...

"The increase in food prices represents a major crisis for the world's poor. This paper aims to review the evidence on the potential impact of higher food prices on poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, and examines the extent to which policy responses will benefit the poor. The paper shows that rising...

The approach taken in this report reflects the view of the collaborating international organizations that price volatility and its effects on food security is a complex issue with many dimensions, agricultural and non-agricultural, short and long-term, with highly differentiated impacts on...

Mitigating climate change while addressing development needs will involve a massive scale-up of investments in Renewable Energy (RE) and Energy Efficiency (EE). Most of these climate investments will come from the private sector, which will be the main driver of low-carbon growth in both...

The recurrent global food price spikes in 2008 and 2010 rekindled interest in the use of national food grain stockpiles ('stocks') to enhance food security. They were a commonly used instrument in government responses to these food prices spikes. They were also widely considered as a useful tool...

Central Asia has made much progress in public health and animal health in the last 20 years but was as unprepared as other regions in the world to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The region also faces challenges from other emerging diseases, re-emerging diseases, and climate change. Since...