Effect of agricultural R&D investment on urban poverty: the Philippine case
Date
2008-03
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Abstract
The escalating incidence of urban poverty in the Philippines has become a constant predicament of the government in the recent decades. Since food demand is responsive to price changes, lowering food prices might in fact alleviate urban poverty. This reduction in food prices is attributed to increased productivity in agriculture. Enhancing agricultural productivity is attainable through a myriad of factors, agricultural R&D spending being one. R&D contributes to human capital formation through public and private investments. This study attempts to find out if increasing agricultural R&D spending can alleviate urban poverty through lowered food prices.
Using Philippine data, the study reveals that agricultural R&D investments improve agricultural productivity, driving food prices down. However, reduced food prices don't translate to lowered urban poverty which can be ascribed to the nature of the data and the instability of world oil prices.
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Keywords
Urban poverty, Investment, Food security, Agricultural economics, Agricultural products, Food pricing