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n Asia, namely the lowering of tariffs on agricultural imports and the reduction of subsidies to domestic agriculture. It also discusses the likely effects of future trade liberalisation by developed (OECD) countries, including the lowering of tariffs and quotas on imports of agricultural goods and labour-intensive manufactures, the removal of the preferential access received by some Asian countries for these goods, and the lowering of domestic and export subsidies to the agricultural sector.

The effect of international trade on food security can be broken down into two separate issues: its effect on the prices of different goods and activities within an economy, and the effect of those changes on the welfare of different households. These issues are addressed in turn.

The effects of trade on domestic prices

Trade liberalisation by developing countries in Asia

Broadly speaking, most Asian countries do not have a significant comparative advantage in agricultural products. The reason is that they have high ratios of labour to land and natural resources, compared with other regions of the world (Table). This pattern of resources makes them less suited to the production of goods which require lots of land relative to labour - i.e. primary products - and more to the production of goods which require lots of labour relative to land - i.e. manufactures. The implication is that trade liberalisation will tend to reduce the domestic price of agricultural products in Asian countries, and increase the domestic price of manufactures.

This broad statement needs to be qualified in three main ways. First, many Asian countries retain a comparative advantage in certain agricultural products. For example, Thailand, India, China, Vietnam and Pakistan are currently among the largest net exporters of rice, and are likely to remain so in future (Gulati and Narayanan, 2002).3 The reason is that, unlike other agricultural products, rice can be produced efficiently using very labour-intensive methods of production, and is in fact difficult to mechanise. Natural conditions (climate, rainfall, and soils) are also particularly favourable to rice production in many Asian countries. The implication is that the domestic price of those agricultural commodities in which many Asian countries possess a clear comparative advantage, such as rice, will raise following trade liberalisation.

Second, the poorer countries in Asia retain a comparative advantage in agricultural products. This is because the production of manufactures requires not just labour but also physical and human capital; poor countries which lack physical or human capital as a result possess a comparative advantage in primary products even if they have a low ratio of land to labour. This pattern is confirmed by the fact that the share of agricultural exports in total exports has fallen in all Asian countries, and remains higher in the 1990s in the poorer countries within the region, such as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The implication is that trade liberalisation may raise the price of agricultural products in these poorer Asian countries.

Third, trade liberalisation is not the only influence on the prices of agricultural goods in Asia. Another important factor is raising per capita income in the region. This increases demand for higher-quality, income-elastic, sources of food such as meat, fruit and vege本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。