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n an era marked by unprecedented global challenges, few issues resonate as profoundly as the quest for food security. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the grain shortage that followed showcased the grave vulnerability of existing systems. The imperative of ensuring that everyone, everywhere has access to safe, sufficient, and nutritious food looms large on the global stage. This month’s book bundle presents a curated selection of books that delve into food security, examining it from multiple angles, and offering insights, strategies, and solutions.

From the intricacies of international trade policies to the sustainability of food systems, and from the impacts of geopolitical conflicts to the strategic place of food, these books provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the realm of global food security.

Whether you are a policymaker, researcher, student, or simply a concerned global citizen, this collection provides valuable resources for understanding, navigating, and contributing to the discourse on global food security.

Food Security: Availability, Income and Productivity is a pertinent book that explores the pressing issue of global food security as our world population continues to grow. The author focuses on three key conditions necessary to achieve food security: food availability, adequate incomes, and increased agricultural productivity.

The book draws insights from history and contemporary contexts to thoroughly examine these conditions. It takes a close look at the obstacles preventing consistent food availability and discusses how to overcome these challenges. It also delves into the importance of ensuring sufficient incomes, highlighting programs like food stamps and food banks. Furthermore, the book provides valuable insights into the factors driving enhanced agricultural productivity.

Food Security caters to a broad audience, including agricultural experts, policymakers, and NGOs working in food aid. It’s also a valuable resource for students studying agriculture and public policy. The book not only informs but also encourages critical thinking about the complex task of feeding a projected nine billion people by 2050.

In a world where food scarcity is becoming increasingly worrisome, this book offers essential insights into the intricate web of food security. It provides a well-reasoned analysis that will contribute to ongoing discussions and efforts aimed at ensuring a sustainable food future for everyone.

William A. Kerr, Food Security: Availability, Income and Productivity (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023) ISBN: 978 1 03531 270 2, 234 pages

Shadow Negotiators: How UN Organizations Shape the Rules of World Trade for Food Security by Matias E. Margulis is a groundbreaking exploration of the influence exerted by United Nations (UN) organizations within the World Trade Organization (WTO) despite their absence from the formal negotiation table. Margulis introduces the concept of “shadow negotiators,” illustrating how UN bodies strategically engage in political actions to shape multilateral trade negotiations.

The book’s primary focus is on the contentious issue of agricultural trade liberalization. It provides a detailed analysis of interventions by four UN organizations: the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food (SRRTF).

Margulis unveils the innovative strategies these UN entities employ to influence global trade regulations. Importantly, he emphasizes that their motivation isn’t rooted in competition with the WTO or ideological opposition to trade liberalization. Instead, it stems from their concern that certain trade rules could negatively impact global food security, running counter to their core mission of addressing world hunger and safeguarding the right to food.

Shadow Negotiators is a meticulously researched work that offers fresh insights into the often-unseen dynamics of international trade. It’s essential reading for those interested in the intersection of trade policy and global welfare, making a valuable contribution to the field of international relations and trade studies.

Matias E. Margulis, Shadow Negotiators: How UN Organizations Shape the Rules of World Trade for Food Security (Stanford University Press, 2023) ISBN: 9781503633520, 292 pages

Universal Food Security: How to End Hunger While Protecting the Planet by Glenn Denning explores the path towards a world where hunger and malnutrition are eradicated, and everyone can access healthy and abundant food for a productive life. The book emphasizes the need to transform our food systems, focusing on sustainability and environmental restoration, from production to distribution.

Denning, drawing from his extensive experience in over fifty countries, offers a practical guide to making healthy diets accessible to all while ensuring sustainability. He identifies key priorities, including sustainable agriculture intensification, robust market infrastructure, responsible postharvest practices, promoting healthy eating, and establishing social safety nets. The book underscores the pivotal role of practitioner-leaders in driving this transformation, highlighting the importance of education and development in instigating change.

But beyond the roadmap, Denning reminds us that the engine driving this transformation is practitioner-leadership, underscored by education and development. This book stands as a testament to the potential for meaningful change when individuals and institutions commit to reshaping our world, making universal food security not merely a dream but a tangible and sustainable reality.

Glenn Denning, Universal Food Security: How to End Hunger While Protecting the Planet (Columbia University Press, 2023) ISBN: 9780231197618, 448 pages

The Russia-Ukraine Conflict and Global Food Security explores the global food security implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which occurred during a period of already high food prices due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The book highlights the importance of the Black Sea region for global food production and Russia’s role in supplying natural gas and fertilizers.

The potential disruption of trade in this region posed a significant threat, with the potential to raise food prices and worsen poverty and hunger in vulnerable countries. The conflict primarily impacted trade in cereals and vegetable oils, fertilizer exports, and energy costs, potentially pushing millions into hunger and poverty.

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) responded swiftly by providing information and policy advice. They established a blog series and online resources to disseminate critical information rapidly. This book compiles these blog posts, offering an overview of the crisis’s progression, international responses, and lessons for ensuring food security in the wake of disruptions.

This book provides essential insights into a rapidly evolving crisis with far-reaching implications for global food security, making it valuable for policymakers and researchers.

Joseph W. Glauber, Ed. and David Laborde Debucquet. Ed., The Russia-Ukraine Conflict and Global Food Security (IFPRI, 2023) ISBN: 9780896294394, 196 pages

Bread and Autocracy: Food, Politics, and Security in Putin’s Russia offers a compelling analysis of the pivotal role food has played in Russian politics from the 1917 Revolution to the present under Putin’s leadership. The authors, Janetta Azarieva, Yitzhak M. Brudny, and Eugene Finkel, argue that Russia’s transition from a grain importer to a global food exporter was a deliberate, long-term strategy aimed at enhancing national security and regime stability. This focus on food self-sufficiency sets Russia apart from other autocracies, as it prioritizes domestic food production over imports, highlighting its significance in maintaining autocratic rule.

The book’s relevance is heightened in today’s world, where food issues are once again at the forefront of global concerns and nations are emphasizing self-reliance. Bread and Autocracy provides a timely and comprehensive exploration of Russia’s unique approach to food politics, shedding light on its implications for both domestic and international affairs. It is a valuable read for those seeking a deeper understanding of Russia’s distinctive stance on food and its impact on political power. The book will be available in hardcover on September 1, 2023.

Janetta Azarieva, Yitzhak M. Brudny, and Eugene Finkel, Bread and Autocracy: Food, Politics, and Security in Putin’s Russia (Oxford University Press, 2023) ISBN: 9780197684368, 525 pages

T

he net minimum wage in Turkey will be raised to TRY 8,506 or USD 455 in today’s exchange rate. Gross minimum wage, on the other hand, will rise to USD 536 (corresponding to TRY 10,008). This is the highest minimum wage in the history of the modern Turkish Republic, both in Turkish lira and the U.S. dollars.

This wage floor surge also corresponds to a cumulative 100 percent increase in the past one year, as opposed to the year-end 65 percent expected inflation by the Turkish Central Bank. The new minimum wage is above the hunger threshold set by TÜRK-İŞ, the confederation of Turkish trade unions, and above the official market expectation of close to TRY 8,000.

Overall, with the current record rise of 55 percent, the minimum wage has gone up from TRY 184 in 2001 to TRY 8,506 (46 times the initial value) in the past 20-22 years. In U.S. dollar-denominated terms, the minimum wage is up by 430 percent.

Meanwhile, for a more realistic comparison, the U.S. dollar inflation and cross-country price differences should also be taken into account. Minimum wages in real dollar terms and USD Purchasing Power Parties (PPP ) are also provided in the figure above (Figure 1). They also confirm the rising PPP-based, real U.S. dollar terms of minimum wages in Turkey.

Asymmetric income flow

Even at its current all-time high, the minimum wage adjustment itself is clearly not sufficient to enhance the standards of living. Minimum wage to average or median wage ratios is over 70 percent nowadays, and they need to be decreased to the modern world averages of 40 to 50 percentage points.

Moreover, the ratio of laborers that are paid somewhere close to the minimum wage is around 38 percent in Turkey, or more than 7 million employees. This statistic needs to be decreased to somewhere close to 10 percent, closer to its modern western and OECD averages. That said, it is of course not the Turkish government to blame for these disruptive figures which are more related to the long-skewed dynamics of the Turkish economy and its real sector.

Another example of the skewed and distorted income equality in Turkey is the fact that in 2011, on average, wages and salaries were 21 percent of the total cost in the balance sheet of an average company. In the manufacturing sector that figure was down to 15 percent. In 2020, the year which saw the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the share was further down to 9 percent of total costs.

As of 2022, on the other hand, these figures are down to a few percentage points for some major businesses in Turkey. That is, indeed, part of the reason why the 2022 income flows are surging for companies in Turkey. As a result, profits and dividend expectations are also rising, which in return increases demand and prices of stocks.

For some major Turkish companies, before tax profits are up from 5-7 percentage points to 9-10 in the past five years. In some sectors in Turkey, 2022 profits are even up by 400 percent. Banking is just one recent popular example. While the share of wages and income for employees is hovering around 26 percent of national income, companies are enjoying somewhere close to 55 percent of the total national income.

The pandemic of 2020 was a breaking point for this figure, as just before 2020, the labor share was above 30 percent and company shares were below 50 percent of the national income. Right before the coup attempt in 2016, business shares were even down to almost 42 percent, while back then labor stood at almost 32 percent of the national income.

Does a higher minimum wage really work?

However, the true question is whether a higher minimum wage really works. There is, after all, a general public and theory-based academic perception that minimum wages don’t actually work, and that they could even lead to unemployment or inflation, as critics argue some companies won’t be able to pay those higher wages.

And, of course, then there are also these two popular neoclassical criticisms: that higher minimum wages will raise price levels and increase unemployment. So, is there any truth to these claims? Does the existence of a minimum wage really lead to unemployment? Or, should the market decide on wages and payments?

Theoretical and ad-hoc supply and demand analysis also shows potential negative impacts. This approach argues that the higher costs of production may force some companies (that are not able to increase their prices instantly) to lay off workers as in the case of other negative supply shocks such as an energy crisis.

However, there is an extensive literature based on empirical studies showing the opposite. As in the popular Sraffa, Reich, and Card and Krueger examples, literature provides empirical data from the U.S. and many European economies testifying to no negative impacts on employment by higher minimum wages.

The idea is that due to their flexible or monopsonistic nature, labor markets are rather complex. A reasonable minimum wage could even increase employment, for instance. Meanwhile, higher minimum wages could also decrease training costs by decreasing turnover rates.

Nowadays, consensus is rather about rising unemployment amongst low-skilled workers. Most of the empirical findings on negative impacts on unemployment are again related to low-skilled workers or the tradable sectors. Though, these workers could indeed be supported by supplementary programs such as a family support system or other unemployment reliefs.

Higher minimum wages could also increase cost-push inflation (PPI). At least in the short run, wage increases are likely to increase costs of production. Yet, regulatory measures could be used to limit even these price increases. Meanwhile, the TEM (Turkish Economy Model) is actually supporting businesses and mitigating these types of inflationary effects.

The demand-pull inflation may also be brought up, but it is still not that common in newly rising economies such as Turkey. The argument is that increasing purchasing power (following rising wages and salaries) and higher demand are additional factors that could lead to higher prices. Both these factors can lead to demand-pull inflation, especially in the advanced economies.

Another issue, at this point, is that in developing or newly rising economies such as Turkey, it is rather more difficult to assume that all the income increases will lead to instant demand explosions. Bequest or intergenerational transfer motives should also be taken into account.

These type of wage adjustments are surely needed in order to avoid the declining purchasing power, economic contraction, and the resulting potential negative impacts on labor markets and employment. Rising purchasing power and increasing demand, on the other hand, could even potentially lead to higher production and employment.

Policies such as a minimum wage limit would also help deal with race, gender, and ethnic-background related discrimination. As rightly pointed by Saez, Zucman and Piketty, among others, minimum wage debates are also directly related to the fight against these rising inequalities, fairness, and increasing labor income share in national income.