개발도상국가의 식량안보와 무역과의 관계 분석: 소득별, 지역별 분석을 중심으로

The Relationship between International Trade and Food Security in Less Developed Countries (LDCs): Based on Income and Locational Levels

OECD-FAO (2015) argues that environmental issue on the agricultural sector, inequality on global food security, and international trade issues are critical aspects influencing the world economy. In particular, less developed countries (LDCs) still suffer from poverty and hunger even if world food security situations have improved since the 1990s. Amidst world food security scenario, this paper aims to analyze the relationship between international trade and food security in LDCs. This paper investigates the positive or negative aspects of international trade on food security with respect to income and local levels. Moreover, economic procedures based on the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, dynamic panel analysis, and Granger causality between international trade and food security are conducted in this study. Results show that international trade and food security have positive, N-shaped relationships and this implies that the initial point of international trade improves food security, but beyond a certain threshold, food security conditions worsen. Income levels and environmental pollutions of LDCs turn out to be important factors that affect food security. Finally, international cooperation is vital to decrease food insecurity as well as agricultural investment.