Review from previous edition Integrating food behavior, health activities, educational investments, and demographic choices into a coherent measure of family and individual welfare is a daunting task. This volume by Alok Bhargava succeeds in doing so at three different levels. First, the empirical models and techniques are state-of-the-art, so applied econometricians will be happy. Second, the models incorporate accepted bio-physical relationships from the public health and medical communities, so biological scientists interested in health-nutrition linkages no longer feel left out from economists' analyses. And third, the food policy community now has a rigorous, empirically-based set of relationships that are amenable to public interventions. It is very good to have food policy analysis back on the research agenda in such an integrated and toughly empirical fashion. * C. Peter Timmer, Centre for Global Development *
Alok Bhargava can always be expected to write important papers and texts on major topics concerning how real people live (or not) and the quality of their lives using advanced arguments from economics and based on skilled use of econometric methodology. Here he tackles the vital interaction between economics with health, food consumption, and economics tangled up with questions about attitudes to poverty and gender. It should be remembered that countless intellectual giants from the past, such Newton, Galileo, and Shakespeare, lived and succeeded whilst living in conditions that would now be considered as deplorable. Economics and scientific discovery can take us some way towards making rational decisions but one probably needs philosophy and sound politics to reach the best outcomes. Alok has written an excellent book which requires careful thought and introspection to get all of its important topics. * The late Clive Granger *
A very useful and required reference. * European Review of Agricultural Economics *
Alok Bhargava is a pioneer in efforts to break down the existing firewalls between the biomedical and social sciences and between the health profession and the food system... The message of Food, Economics, and Health is clear, well documented, and of critical importance to the health professions... Bhargava provides an important tool to assist readers, whether they are in nutritional science, economics, or the medical profession. * Journal of the American Medical Association *
This kind of cross-disciplinary reading and integration is vital, if issues of nutrition at the heart of this book - are to be grappled with in a meaningful way. Bhargava is a pioneer. * Lawrence Haddad, Economic Development and Cultural Change *
This book is a shining example of the immense potential and value of a multi-disciplinary approach...Bhargava fashioned in this book an insightful, detailed and superbly organised presentation of analyses to make his case for the need to improve the quality of our diets - not only for the purpose of elevating quality of life, but also to improve productivity of labour. * Tan Xiang Ru, Asian Journal of Social Science *
This book gives excellent insights into how various disciplines can tackle the issues of food and health. * Aisha Dasgupta, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society *
The book covers a wide variety of topics such as demand for food, child nutrition and cognitive development, fertility and child mortality, nutrition and productivity, diet and obesity. Each chapter is a model of clarity, and backed with solid econometric evidence. * Raghav Gaiha, Development and Change *
