Macroeconomic Aspects of Nutrition Policy

Macroeconomic aspects of nutritional policies and the implications of macro policies on nutritional outcomes are presented in this chapter. Macroeconomic policies and the changes in global economic trends have a profound impact on human welfare, as is indicated by poverty, hunger, and malnutrition levels. Understanding the pathways through which such changes affect nutritional outcomes is important for designing policies that will improve nutritional outcomes, and protect vulnerable sections of the population from sliding into poverty and malnutrition. Yet such analysis continues to be the domain of very few macroeconomists. The purpose of this chapter, which complements Chapter 4, Microeconomic Nutrition Policy, on microeconomic issues and their application to food consumption and nutrition, is to expose the readers to the approaches to studying the nutritional implications of macroeconomic policies.