Linkages between Food Security and Human Well Bing in South Asia: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

A specific amount of food and safe drinking water are basic necessities of living human-beings. The study analysis

the impact of agriculture, inflation, food import and food export on food production index for four South Asian

countries, namely; Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. For statistical analysis, data used from 1990 to 2014

and data are collected from the World Bank data base, namely; World development indicator (WDI). Levin Lin Chu

unit root test is used for exploring the stationary of the variables of the model. The result shows that inflation and

food import have positive and significant relation with food production index in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri

Lanka. The result shows that food export has a negative and insignificant relationship with the food production

index in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lank. Agriculture has negative and insignificant relation to food

production index. Government should adopt the agriculture policies to increase the production of food. The success

in ensuring food security, or the lack of it, was conditioned by macro-economic developments as much as specific

policies and programs addressed to resolve this problem. Macroeconomic policies in the countries in this region

were pursued in the context of progressive liberalization, rather than de-bureaucratization, careful sequencing of

reforms (starting from the industrial and financial sector reforms), and concern for stable price levels (i.e., curbing

excessive inflation). This distinguished the growth experience of this region from that in the developing countries of

Africa and Latin America.