The short-run effects of changes in food availability in a low-income economy are examined by using a macro-model with two producing sectors and four household groups. The empirical analysis follows a general equilibrium approach that traces the interrelationship among prices, wages, distribution of household and factor incomes, pattern of demand, and the level of economic activity. The parameter values and the initialisation of the model are based on data on the Bangladesh economy. The results of the model demonstrate that the supply of staple foods has a strong influence on the distribution of real income and the absolute living standards of the poor. The results also suggest that the food entitlement failures in the short run arise largely due to the effect of higher food prices on real wages rather than due to direct income losses in food production.

This paper analyses the effects of timing and type of breastmilk supplementation on infant mortality using a discrete time analog of continuous time proportional hazards model. The data are taken from a prospective study which collected information on timing and type of breastmilk supplementation, mother’s nutrition at various stages of the study, and other associated factors of fertility and infant mortality.The statistical analyses show that breastfeeding type at various stages of the child’s life is a significant predictor of infant mortality, even when variables such as mother’s sex, mother’s education, religion and SES are included in the model.The study shows that infants breastfed at birth have better probabilities of survival relative to those who are never breastfed or are given liquid supplements very early in life. This effect remains significant even when mother’s nutrition at childbirth, which is used as proxy for birth weight, is controlled.

Bangladesh is one of the countries most seriously affected by natural disasters, being chronically prone to floods, droughts and cyclones. This paper assesses the impact of natural disasters on foodgrain production at the national and regional levels during the 1973-90 period. It also evaluates the public policy response to natural disasters. The paper argues that the effect on production has not been severe at the national level because (a) shortfalls in production in affected regions is to a large extent compensated by above normal production in non-affected regions and (b) farmers try to make up the loss through above-normal production in the post-calamity season. The paper argues that the government responds to a natural disaster by importing foodgrains more than what is needed to mitigate the adverse effects, which inflates the public stocks and depresses prices in subsequent seasons. While this has helped case the short-term food security problem, it may have dampened farmers’ incentives to sustain the growth of foodgrain production in the longrun