An abridged selection of papers from the hardback Hailed in its initial publication as a work with urgent implications for countless lives, Dreze and Sen's The Political Economy of Hunger is the classic analysis of an extraordinary paradox: in a world of food surpluses and satiety, hunger kills millions more people each year than wars or political repression. Now this abridged version, edited by Athar Hussain, puts the most influential essays from the three-volume work within the reach of concerned citizens who want to understand the real causes of hunger and deprivation, and the remedies that are feasible and effective. Ranging from Africa to South Asia to China and written by an international array of authorities, the essays included in this abridgement give the best available analysis of the causes of worldwide hunger and deprivation, and the best hope for effective aid policies in the future.