Exploring the Logic Behind Southern Africa’s Food Crises (original) (raw)

The paper examines the underlying logic behind food crises in Southern Africa, focusing on the interactions between governments and the private sector in a politically sensitive environment. It identifies issues such as low trust, imperfect information, and lack of credible commitments as major contributors to poor coordination and subsequent food price spikes that exceed import parity during droughts. Drawing upon examples from past crises in Zimbabwe and Kenya, the analysis highlights the complexities of market dynamics, the role of state interventions, and suggests potential areas for future research and policy improvement.