RISING FOOD-PRICES AND RURAL POVERTY - GOING BEYOND CORRELATIONS

While the last word might not have been said in the debate on the dist ributional consequences of a rise in the relative price of food, in th is paper the authors, while commenting on the correlation aspect, nudg e the debate away from the correlation issue and discuss (i) who among the rural poor are unambiguously hurt by rising relative,price of foo d, (ii) what is the received wisdom on the mechanism by which rising r elative price of food is supposed to benefit the poor and why it might not work, and (iii) what should be the appropriate mix of policy to g o along with reforms-induced rising food prices.