Question

What are the public policy alternatives to hunger

Answer 1

Conceptual Analysis

Ribar observed that the use of a conceptual model helps in the understanding of how children get fed and why some go hungry, provides insight into how various programs work, and helps identify potential challenges for program effectiveness. Ribar pointed to the Gundersen discussion in Chapter 2 on the development of conceptual models, to the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council (IOM/NRC) report (2013), and specifically to Barrett’s (2002) model of how household food security is determined. The Barrett model adapted Becker’s (1965) household production model, and is very similar to Grossman’s health production model (1972). Ribar used the Barrett model in his discussion.

The model assumes a household that faces a life-cycle utility function with two objectives in each period. One is to advance its physical wellbeing, and the other is to consume things based on a preference function that incorporates tastes and culture. Finally, the model assumes that the household will discount the future and that the future will be uncertain.