The regional and geographical aspects of food security: A spatial analysis in the case of Azerbaijan, Hungary, Austria, Singapore and Georgia

Abstract

Achieving food security is crucial, and a primary development goal world-wide. However, there is a difficulty in finding reliable data on the topic, which raised a problem for policymakers and researchers as well. Therefore, the present study aimed to fill in this gap by examining the dynamics of regional food security. The main research objective was to identify the determinants of food security in Azerbaijan, Singapore, Austria, Georgia and Hungary. Furthermore, a specific objective was to investigate the short- and long-term impacts of both endogenous and exogenous shocks on the food security of the selected countries. The study collected large scale panel dataset between 1992 and 2019. The empirical model suggested that food import, foreign direct investment, inflation, annual per capita income and Human Development Index had a positive, while the flow of food export had an adverse impact on the food security status of the selected countries. The study recommended to the governments of selected countries and to developmental organisations to achieve national food security through indigenous agricultural interventions along with supporting domestic growers by investing in agricultural education, skill development and infrastructure programs.