An Economic Analysis of National Food Sovereignty Policies in the Middle East: The Case of Lebanon and Jordan

Harrigan, Jane

Abstract

This chapter analyses food security policies in Lebanon and Jordan in the wake of the 2007/08 global food crisis. It shows how the crisis prompted a move towards food sovereignty whereby MENA states become concerned with power and control over their access to food. This has prompted renewed emphasis on domestic food production. We use two neoclassical tools to analyse the economic efficiency of this food production, namely, Revealed Comparative Advantage and the Policy Analysis Matrix and find that cereal production is inefficient. The work highlights the tensions between the non-economic aspects of food sovereignty concerns and the narrow concept of economic efficiency.

Citation

Harrigan, J. (2014). An Economic Analysis of National Food Sovereignty Policies in the Middle East: The Case of Lebanon and Jordan. In Z. Babar, & S. Mirgani (Eds.), Food Security in the Middle East. Hurst and Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof%3Aoso/9780199361786.003.0003

• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2014
• Deposit Date: Sep 30, 2013
• Book Title: Food Security in the Middle East
• ISBN: 9780199361786
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof%3Aoso/9780199361786.003.0003
• Keywords: Food security, macro food sovereignty, revealed comparative advantage, policy analysis matrix, Lebanon agriculture, Jordan agriculture.