Wager on Global Food Prices 2001–2020: Who Won and What Does it Mean?
This paper presents the results of a 2011 wager between Stan Becker and David Lam about the trajectory of world food prices for the period 2011–2020 versus the period 2002–2010. The wager was a response to Lam’s 2011 presidential address to the Population Association of America, which showed that ma...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
The White Horse Press
2021-12-01
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| Series: | The Journal of Population and Sustainability |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.whp-journals.co.uk/JPS/article/view/691 |
| _version_ | 1797837712910188544 |
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| author | Stan Becker David Lam |
| author_facet | Stan Becker David Lam |
| author_sort | Stan Becker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper presents the results of a 2011 wager between Stan Becker and David Lam about the trajectory of world food prices for the period 2011–2020 versus the period 2002–2010. The wager was a response to Lam’s 2011 presidential address to the Population Association of America, which showed that many health and socio-demographic indicators had improved over the previous fifty years, in spite of the addition of four billion people to the world’s population. Lam lost the wager, with the Food and Agriculture Organization’s price index for five food groups averaging about twenty per cent higher for 2011–2020 than for 2001–2010. Becker and Lam discuss the background of the wager, give their differing interpretations of the outcome and discuss future trends in population, food production and food prices. Lam gives a more optimistic perspective on future trends, while Becker raises concerns about rapid degradation of planetary ecosystems, species loss and global warming. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:29:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7ad444d839224461a573fbf6efb8da61 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2398-5488 2398-5496 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:29:07Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | The White Horse Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Journal of Population and Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj.art-7ad444d839224461a573fbf6efb8da612023-04-28T09:04:45ZengThe White Horse PressThe Journal of Population and Sustainability2398-54882398-54962021-12-01619910810.3197/JPS.63772238772430618Wager on Global Food Prices 2001–2020: Who Won and What Does it Mean?Stan Becker0David Lam1Johns Hopkins UniveristyUniversity of MichiganThis paper presents the results of a 2011 wager between Stan Becker and David Lam about the trajectory of world food prices for the period 2011–2020 versus the period 2002–2010. The wager was a response to Lam’s 2011 presidential address to the Population Association of America, which showed that many health and socio-demographic indicators had improved over the previous fifty years, in spite of the addition of four billion people to the world’s population. Lam lost the wager, with the Food and Agriculture Organization’s price index for five food groups averaging about twenty per cent higher for 2011–2020 than for 2001–2010. Becker and Lam discuss the background of the wager, give their differing interpretations of the outcome and discuss future trends in population, food production and food prices. Lam gives a more optimistic perspective on future trends, while Becker raises concerns about rapid degradation of planetary ecosystems, species loss and global warming.https://www.whp-journals.co.uk/JPS/article/view/691food pricespopulationwagereconomicsecology |
| spellingShingle | Stan Becker David Lam Wager on Global Food Prices 2001–2020: Who Won and What Does it Mean? The Journal of Population and Sustainability food prices population wager economics ecology |
| title | Wager on Global Food Prices 2001–2020: Who Won and What Does it Mean? |
| title_full | Wager on Global Food Prices 2001–2020: Who Won and What Does it Mean? |
| title_fullStr | Wager on Global Food Prices 2001–2020: Who Won and What Does it Mean? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wager on Global Food Prices 2001–2020: Who Won and What Does it Mean? |
| title_short | Wager on Global Food Prices 2001–2020: Who Won and What Does it Mean? |
| title_sort | wager on global food prices 2001 2020 who won and what does it mean |
| topic | food prices population wager economics ecology |
| url | https://www.whp-journals.co.uk/JPS/article/view/691 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stanbecker wageronglobalfoodprices20012020whowonandwhatdoesitmean AT davidlam wageronglobalfoodprices20012020whowonandwhatdoesitmean |