Food security and regional imbalances in mexico

Abstract

This paper seeks to analyze regional dimensions of food security as a development issue, and its geographic imbalances in Mexico. Through the application of principal component analysis, an index was developed at the municipal and regional level. In addition to combining information for different variables which are consolidated into a single measurement, this index numerically synthesizes three of the four dimensions with which the problem is measured: Access, availability and biological utilization. Meanwhile, the Dalenius-Hodges stratification method was used to establish food security ranges at different regional scales. The results show that the socioeconomic and geographic inequalities caused by the development models historically applied in Mexico affect the population's internal food security throughout its regional areas.