中文出版物

× 2020年在诸多方面都让我们始料未及。新冠肺炎（COVID-19）疫情为全球带来了一场大规模的公共卫生灾难，各国均陷入了疫情及其相关应对政策带来的不同程度的经济困境，面临服务严重中断和人员流动严重受限的局面。无论是富裕国家还是贫穷国家，均未能幸免。在中低收入国家，许多弱势群体直接面临食物安全、医疗和营养方面的威胁。丧失生计、营养不良、教育中断和资源枯竭造成的长期影响可能性非常巨大，特别是对许多国家来说，距离新冠肺炎疫情的结束还遥遥无期。此外，疫情还凸显并加剧了我们食物系统的薄弱环节和不平等状况。一年过去了，全球因新冠肺炎疫情而进一步偏离了到2030年实现可持续发展目标(SDG)的进程。显然，食物系统可以在推动我们走上正轨方面发挥核心作用。要想实现可持续发展目标，就必须对食物系统进行转型，帮助我们更好地为下一次冲击做好准备，同时造福世界贫困人口和弱势群体以及我们的地球。

福兮祸所伏，祸兮福所倚。2020年在颠覆我们的世界的同时，也为我们提供了一系列可指导和促进食物系统转型的经验和创新方法。尽管收入损失导致食物安全和营养水平严重下降，并且这种情况可能会持续存在，但事实证明，食物供应链的抗逆力超出预期。从新冠肺炎疫情开始，各国政府便采取了一系列措施确保食物流通，并扩大社会保障网络，为食物安全提供保障。同时，私营部门在食物供应链中引入创新方法，帮助克服封锁造成的供应链中断。此外，由于食物系统在2020年发挥的核心作用和适应能力有目共睹，这为食物系统转型增添了强劲动力。

× 国际食物政策研究所(IFPRI) 坚信通过国际社会共同的努力，可以实现可持续 减贫及消除饥饿和营养不良的目标。为实现这些目标，IFPRI 致力于提供食物和营养安全方 面的前沿研究和政策方案。40多年来，IFPRI 与各利益相关者以及合作伙伴同心协力为国家 和区域主导的政策提供必要的证据，为确保所有人获得安全、充足、营养且可持续生产的食物贡献力量。

× 目前，我们的食物系统正处于关键时期⸺无论 是在规模还是在速度上，全球、地区、国家和地方食 物系统正在发生着空前的变化。食物系统正以迅猛的速度发展，以满足日益增长且不 断变化的需求，但仍然无法满足每个人的需求。当这份报告付印时，新冠肺炎的爆发 构成了新的全球性威胁。在全世界与这个流行病战斗之际，经济和生计受到破坏之时， 贫穷和弱势群体可能遭受的损失最大。应对这个冲击的影响，包括从供应链和贸易中 断，到严重的失业问题以及贫困水平上升，迫切需要在短期内为最弱势群体提供有效 和有针对性的社会保障。为了长期的抗逆力，我们必须建立包容性食物系统。在实现 食物系统现代化以获得稳健、可持续发展的气候智能型食物系统的过程中，我们还必 须努力确保食物系统对小农、青年人口、女性、受冲突影响群体及其他贫困人口和边 缘化群体具有包容性。

× IFPRI’s flagship report reviews the major food policy developments and decisions of the past year, and looks ahead to 2019. This year’s Global Food Policy Report highlights the urgency of rural revitalization to address a growing crisis in rural areas. Focusing on the needs of rural areas is one of the most promising and practical ways to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Building blocks for rural revitalization include stronger rural–urban linkages, better access to basic services such as electricity, more and better rural jobs, greater gender equality, and restoration of the rural environment, all needed to make rural areas vibrant and healthy places to live and work. This synopsis provides a brief overview of the findings of the report.

《2019全球粮食政策报告》回顾了2018年主要的政策发展，强调乡村振兴是有望实现《2030年可持续发展议程》和改善农村生活的重要途径。利用新机遇和技术、加强基本公共服务保障、创造更多更优的农村就业机会、促进性别平等以及恢复环境的政策、制度和投资可以将农村地区打造成充满活力的健康家园，使未来子孙万代得以安居乐业。

× 2017年，全球在取得不同方面进展的同时，各种不确定因素亦日趋增加。尽管世界经济复苏强劲，持续的冲突、饥荒及难民危机却导致全球饥饿人口增加。同时，在反全球化思潮的冲击下，全球格局呈现出复杂多变的态势，国际贸易和投资以及人口与知识的流动均受到阻碍。虽然在过去几十年里全球一体化加速推进了消除贫困和营养不良的进程，然而随着美国从多项重要国际协议中退出、英国退欧以及许多国家反移民言论的抬头，全球一体化进程开始出现倒退。《2018全球粮食政策报告》综述了2017年在政策方面取得的重大发展，着重强调了未来的挑战与机遇，同时深入探讨了反全球化引发的担忧以及如何利用全球一体化造福我们的全球食物系统。

× 在新时期，为了更好应对这些挑战，实现中非农业合作的潜力，建议把中非农业合作制度化，并制定一个综合战略规划指导未来的中非农业现代化合作。该综合战略规划将有助于指导和协调中国对非的投资和援助，并在合作过程中与非盟成员国推动农业发展的关键努力相对接。
To address the challenges and fulfill the potential of China-Africa modernization agricultural cooperation in the new era, it is critical to formulate an integrated strategic plan to guide the future development of China-Africa agricultural modernization cooperation. Such a plan is expected to guide and align Chinese investments and collaborative activities with key development efforts of the African Union member states.

× 中国在过去近40年里取得的减贫成就有目共睹。本报告旨在研究中国城乡贫困的现状、特点和存在的问题，梳理扶贫政策的演变及挑战，分析中国减贫工作面临的国际国内形势与新问题，针对这些问题梳理和总结国际经验，提出2020年后中国减贫新愿景，并为新的减贫战略制定提供决策参考。

× 2016年，食物领域出现的重要进展可能对各个国家和地区的食物安全与营养状
况产生深远影响。本报告将研究非洲、中东、北非、中亚、南亚、东亚、拉美和加勒
比海等主要地区在粮食政策方面的进展、城市化趋势，以及这些趋势对食物安全
与营养状况的影响。以下章节将探究不同地区的情况，包括：
■■ 非洲地区合作与投资增长，如何在气候变化和商品价格走低的情况下加强食
物安全
■■ 中东北非地区持续的冲突、某些国家的政策改革需求以及较低的油价
■■ 中亚如何推广农业多样性，加强区域一体化，增强经济恢复力
■■ 南亚的增长迅速，针对农业出台新政策，展开新投资
■■ 东亚的城市化、饮食结构变化与地区增长
■■ 拉美及加勒比海主要经济体的衰退和厄尔尼诺现象对该地区未来的影响

× Together these chapters provide an overview of what we know about urbanization, food security, and nutrition and point to some of the most urgent research and data needs. They also point to promising policy directions that could begin to strengthen linkages between rural and urban areas and contribute to food security and access to nutritious foods in the world’s expanding urban areas. Addressing the needs of growing ranks of urban dwellers and improving the livelihoods of smallholder producers while promoting agricultural productivity will be essential to global food security and nutrition and to moving ahead with the new sustainable development agenda.

× Rural-urban linkages—including physical, economic, social, and political connections—are crucial for ending hunger and malnutrition (SDG 2) sustainably in both rural and urban areas. Rural-urban linkages also support other Sustainable Development Goals. Urban growth increases food demand and spurs dietary changes in urban areas—new demand can create opportunities for rural producers to improve their livelihoods. Broken value chains and poor coordination weaken rural-urban links and hold back progress on food security and nutrition. Investment in rural infrastructure and intermediate towns—quality rural and feeder roads, electricity, storage facilities, communications and information—can build connections and create hubs of economic activity benefiting smallholders and cities.

× 2016年是见证在改善食物安全和营养并兑现可持续发展承诺方面取得重要进展的一年。然而，急剧变化的政治、经济和人口形势所带来的诸多挑战也将考验全球在新的可持续发展议程下的发展势头。随着快速城市化在全球范围内的深入推进，贫困、食物不安全和营养不良日益成为城市所面临的问题。这种快速转变正改变饮食结构，重塑粮食链，推动小农场与现代超市的对接。展望未来，用于消除饥饿和营养不良的政策和投资必须考虑到城市贫困人口的需求，发
展农村食物生产者与城市市场之间的密切联系，同时为农村和城市人口提供支持。

× 2015年对国际社会而言是具有分水岭意义的一年。联合国千年发 展目标于2015年到期；自1990年以来，世界各国在实现千年发 展目标方面取得了重大的进展，极端贫困人口、儿童死亡率以及饥 饿人口比例均降低了约一半。然而，我们仍然面临着巨大的挑战。 《2016全球粮食政策报告》综述了影响2015年及未来的食物安全和 营养的主要趋势、事件和变化，并探讨了全球食物系统如何在为进 一步减少饥饿、营养不良和贫困做出最优贡献的同时，确保全球资 源的可持续利用。2016年是我们将新的国际和国家承诺转化为行动 的重要的一年。

× 小农在保障全球食物安全和营养，实现可持续发展和气候变化目标方面可以发挥重要作用。加强小农，尤其是女性和青年小农的适应能力和商业生存能力，可以帮助他们 为实现这些全球目标做出更大的贡献。

× 在现今国际社会所面临的诸多挑战中，营养不良问题显得尤为严峻：全球有三分之一的人口营养不良。营养不良有很多不同的表现形式：儿童生长与发育不良；个体消瘦或易受感染；过度肥胖；由于过度摄入糖、盐和脂肪而面临慢性病的风险；缺乏重要的维生素或矿物质。就目前来看，营养不良和不健康饮食是造成全球疾病负担的最大因素：各国都面临着营养不良造成的严峻公共卫生挑战。在非洲和亚洲，每年营养不良造成的经济损失相当于11%的国内生产总值（GDP），而在预防营养不良方面每投入1美元便可带来16美元的投资回报。虽然世界各国已就营养目标达成共识，而且近年来也取得了一些进展，但是全球尚未走上实现这些目标的正轨。这份对世界营养状况的第三次全面评估为扭转这一趋势并在2030年前消除一切形式的营养不良指明了方向。

× 近年来，营养不良问题引发了国际社会的空前关注，各国也为解决这一问题纷纷做出了政治承诺。随着营养问题在全球议程中受重视程度的快速提升，国际社会迫切需要在制定、实施和评估营养增强政策和干预措施方面的引导。《滋养百万人：改善营养的实例》（Nourishing Millions: Stories of Change in Nutrition）汇集了过去五十年改善营养方面最生动的实例。通过这些实例，人们可以深入了解对改善营养有效或无效的措施以及有助于取得成功的因素。本书的实例丰富而多样化，它们重点探讨了营养方案和营养干预措施、其他部门对改善营养产生的影响、发展中国家在国家层面取得的营养进展以及领导力如何推动营养改善。本书以独特的视角探讨了全球过去和现在在营养方面的成就及挑战。

× 近年来，营养不良问题引发了国际社会空前的关注， 各国也相应做出了解决营养不良问题的政治承诺。增强营养( S U N ) 行动、《柳叶刀》 （Lancet ）孕产妇及儿童营养目标系列以及第二届国际营养大会(ICN2)等里程碑标志着营养问题在全球政策和研究议程中的受重视程度已得到了快速提升。 这些进展扭转了国际社会多年来对营养问题相对忽视的局面。营养不良问题已成为一个全球性挑战，造成了巨大的社会和经济负担。 每年有数以百万计的儿童因营养不良而死亡，不仅如此，营养不良还 阻碍儿童生长，影响儿童发育，降低儿童入学率并且使他们成年时陷入贫困的可能性大大增加。发育迟缓不仅影响人一生，而且影响后代：体重过轻的母亲生出体重过轻的孩子的几率更高，导致营养不良跨代延续。营养不良每年造成全球GDP损失高达1.4-2.1万亿美元，相当于撒哈拉以南非洲地区的经济总量。

× 国际食物政策研究所（IFPRI）坚信，国际社会可通过携手合 作战胜全球饥饿和营养不良。为实现这一目标，在与发展 实践者、决策者、非政府组织和私营部门合作的同时， IFPRI通过提供国家和地区主导的政策所需的实证研究依据，使制定 的政策有助于确保所有人获得安全、充足、营养和可持续种植的食 物。

× 三十多年来，中国经历了经济改革和发展，成功地实现了经济增长和减贫。中国在减少城乡居民的收入差距、平衡区域发展、保护自然资源等方面也做出了很多努力。2003年，国际食物政策研究所专门针对其在中国的工作制定了战略，并扩大了其国家项目；同年，国际食物政策研究所与中国农业科学院（CAAS）合作，成立了国际农业与农村发展研究中心（ICARD），以协调其在中国和东亚的扶贫研究和活动。

× 2025协定 (Compact2025) 是一项旨在2025年前消除饥饿和营养不良的倡议。协定召集各方面的利益相关者齐聚一堂，通过确立优先事项，开展创新和学习，对行动方案进行规划，巩固扩大已取得的成绩，并总结分享经验教训，加快实现协定目标的进程。饥饿和营养不良不但会给人类社会带来痛苦、疾病和不可计数的死亡，每年还对全球生产总值造成高达 1.4-2.1万亿美元的损失。通过2025协定，我们有把握能够在2025年前终结饥饿和营养不良。

× The 193 individual country profiles capture the status and progress of all UN Member States, and the 80+ indicators include a wealth of information on child, adolescent and adult anthropometry and nutritional status, in addition to intervention coverage, food supply, economics, and demography. This tool is particularly useful for nutrition champions at the country-level, as it presents a wide range of evidence needed to assess country progress in improving nutrition and nutrition-related outcomes.

× 《2013年全球粮食政策报告》是年度系列报告的第三份，它深度分析了粮食政策的主要发展情况和重要事件。在人们对粮食和营养安全的关注再度转强的背景下，本系列对年度内有助于或妨碍实现粮食和营养安全的粮食政策发展动态进行了综述。本报告回顾了粮食政策的发展变化及其原因，分析了主要挑战和机遇，分享了新证据和新知识，突出了新兴议题。

× This 2012 Global Food Policy Report is the second in an annual series that provides an in-depth look at major food policy developments and events. Initiated in response to resurgent interest in food security, the series offers a yearly overview of the food policy developments that have contributed to or hindered progress in food and nutrition security. It reviews what happened in food policy and why, examines key challenges and opportunities, shares new evidence and knowledge, and highlights emerging issues.

× NonCropShare is an experimental field game, played by four players, that investigates how choices to maintain non-crop habitat or employ pesticides shift in response to changes in incentives. It is a form of coordination game. NonCropShare is currently being employed in Cambodia, Vietnam, and China to evaluate what kinds of conditions lead farmers to move away from intensive pesticide use. The current version of the NonCropShare program can be used only with NetLogo5. All game outputs are saved in a .csv format. This version of NonCropShare is intended to be used on a set of Windows-8 tablets, linked across a wireless network. The program currently features two interfaces: the Master and the Enumerator. In the "Master" version, all game parameters are adjustable from the NetLogo interface, but users should read the NonCropShare Info tab carefully to understand the role of each setting. The "Enumerator" version provides an example of a game interface used in experimental settings, with a set of easy-to-follow instructions for an enumeration team and few moving parts on the interface. Current language supported in NonCropShare are English, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Khmer.

× Consolidates all of IFPRI’s intellectual products, with over 4,000 open access publications

× The year 2011 highlighted ongoing challenges to global food security, from food price volatility, extreme weather shocks, and famine to unrest and conflicts. On the policy front, major devel­opments at the global and national levels both offered grounds for encouragement and pointed to areas where further action is needed.

× Recent trends in food prices—higher levels and higher volatility—mirror trends predicted by a number of experts. Given the complex web of factors influencing global food security, governments of developed and developing countries, as well as international organizations, must use a comprehensive approach to prevent a food crisis reoccurrence. This comprehensive approach should comprise a number of initiatives and reforms; while some of these have been proposed before, their merits are even more relevant today and justify reprioritization and reallocation of national and international budgets. There are 7 main initiatives that governments and institutions should promptly implement. 1. Effective policies and technology investments to minimize food-fuel competition. 2. Social protection, especially social safety nets, for the most vulnerable groups. 3. Transparent, fair, and open global trade. 4. A global emergency physical grain reserve. 5. Policies and investments to promote agricultural growth, in particular smallholder productivity, in the face of climate change. 6. Investments by national governments in climate change adaptation and mitigation using the full potential that agriculture offers. 7. An international working group to regularly monitor the world food situation and trigger action to prevent excessive price volatility.

× 获得生存所需的食物是人的基本权 利。基于实证研究而制定的食物政策 可以确保所有人获得安全、充足、营 养和能够持续收获的食物。食物政策
研究正是为食物政策制定提供依据。

× In 2000, the world’s leaders set a target of halving the percentage of hungry people between 1990 and 2015. This rather modest target constitutes part of the first Millennium Development Goal, which also calls for halving the proportion of people living in poverty and achieving full employment. However, the effort to meet the hunger target has swerved off track, and the world is getting farther and farther away from realizing this objective. The goal of halving hunger by 2015 can still be achieved, but business as usual will not be enough. What is needed is “business as unusual”—a smarter, more innovative, better focused, and cost-effective approach to reducing hunger.

× Learning from successes in agricultural development is now more urgent than ever. Progress in feeding the world’s billions has slowed, while the challenge of meeting future food needs remains enormous and is subject to new uncertainties in the global food and agricultural systems. In the late 1950s around a billion people were estimated to go hungry every day. Scientists, policymakers, farmers, and ordinary people initiated a concerted push to boost agricultural production and productivity in developing countries. Great strides were also made in improving the quality of food and the ability of vulnerable people to access food needed for survival. All these efforts have done more than just feed millions. They have also demonstrated that agriculture can be a key driver of growth and development for many of the world’s poorest countries.

× The world food situation is currently being rapidly redefined by new driving forces. Income growth, climate change, high energy prices, globalization, and urbanization are transforming food consumption, production, and markets. The influence of the private sector in the world food system, especially the leverage of food retailers, is also rapidly increasing. Changes in food availability, rising commodity prices, and new producer-consumer linkages have crucial implications for the livelihoods of poor and food-insecure people. Analyzing and interpreting recent trends and emerging challenges in the world food situation is essential in order to provide policymakers with the necessary information to mobilize adequate responses at the local, national, regional, and international levels. It is also critical for helping to appropriately adjust research agendas in agriculture, nutrition, and health. Not surprisingly, renewed global attention is being given to the role of agriculture and food in development policy, as can be seen from the World Bank's World Development Report, accelerated public action in African agriculture under the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), and the Asian Development Bank's recent initiatives for more investment in agriculture, to name just a few examples." -- from Text

× "The sharp increase in food prices over the past couple of years has raised serious concerns about the food and nutrition situation of poor people in developing countries, about inflation, and-in some countries-about civil unrest. Real prices are still below their mid-1970s peak, but they have reached their highest point since that time. Both developing- and developed-country governments have roles to play in bringing prices under control and in helping poor people cope with higher food bills. In 2007 the food price index calculated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) rose by nearly 40 percent, compared with 9 percent the year before, and in the first months of 2008 prices again increased drastically. Nearly every agricultural commodity is part of this rising price trend. Since 2000-a year of low prices-the wheat price in the international market has more than tripled and maize prices have more than doubled. The price of rice jumped to unprecedented levels in March 2008. Dairy products, meat, poultry, palm oil, and cassava have also experienced price hikes. When adjusted for inflation and the dollar's decline (by reporting in euros, for example), food price increases are smaller but still dramatic, with often serious consequences for the purchasing power of the poor. National governments and international actors are taking various steps to try to minimize the effects of higher international prices for domestic prices and to mitigate impacts on particular groups. Some of these actions are likely to help stabilize and reduce food prices, whereas others may help certain groups at the expense of others or actually make food prices more volatile in the long run and seriously distort trade. What is needed is more effective and coherent action to help the most vulnerable populations cope with the drastic and immediate hikes in their food bills and to help farmers meet the rising demand for agricultural products." -- from Author's text

× "The complex causes of the current food and agriculture crisis require a comprehensive response. In view of the urgency of assisting people and countries in need, the first set of policy actions— an emergency package—consists of steps that can yield immediate impact: 1. expand emergency responses and humanitarian assistance to food-insecure people and people threatening government legitimacy, 2. eliminate agricultural export bans and export restrictions, 3. undertake fast-impact food production programs in key areas, and 4. change biofuel policies. A second set of actions—a resilience package—consists of the following steps: 5. calm markets with the use of market-oriented regulation of speculation, shared public grain stocks, strengthened food-import financing, and reliable food aid; 6. invest in social protection; 7. scale up investments for sustained agricultural growth; and 8. complete the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations. Investment in these actions calls for additional resources. Policymakers should consider mobilizing resources from four sources: the winners from the commodity boom among countries; the community of traditional and new donor countries; direct or indirect progressive taxation and reallocation of public expenditures in the affected countries themselves; and mobilization of private sector finance, including through improved outreach of banking to agriculture. Because of countries’ diverse situations, the design of programs must be country driven and country owned. Accountability for sound implementation must also rest with countries. At the same time, a new international architecture for the governance of agriculture, food, and nutrition is needed to effectively implement the initiatives described, and especially their international public goods components. Global and national action is needed, through existing mechanisms, well-coordinated special initiatives, and possibly a special fund." -- from Text

× "The world made significant progress on reducing poverty between 1981 and 2001 — the number of people in developing countries living on less than US$1 a day fell from 1.5 billion to 1.1 billion, or from 40 to 21 percent of the world’s population. In fact, however, nearly all this progress reflects gains made in reducing poverty in China and India, two of the world’s fastest-growing economies. The rapid economic growth and enormous poverty reduction achieved by China, and to a lesser extent India, are remarkable accomplishments that bear closer investigation. What do the experiences of these two countries reveal about how to sequence reforms and about what kinds of reforms are most effective in stimulating growth and combating poverty? These three essays compare the experiences of China and India to learn what steps each country took and what lessons they each have to offer." -- from Text

× 革命胜利后的二十几年，激进 主义一直占上风，过早废除土地私 有，土地疏远农民，到“文化大革 命”结束时，中国经济已处于相当 困难的境地，引发农业危机。人口 增长，食品短缺。人均粮食始终只 有300多公斤。8亿农民中，贫困人 口占2 . 5亿。整个国家粮食不能自 给，要大量进口

× ...Today, 1.1 billion people live on less than one US dollar per day (the internationally recognized poverty threshold)—430 million in South Asia, 325 million in Sub-Saharan Africa, 260 million in East Asia and the Pacific, and 55 million in Latin America. Too many children live lives characterized by hunger and illness, and all too often succumb to early death. Moreover, another 1.6 billion people live on between one and two dollars per day, often sliding temporarily below the one dollar per day threshold. To enable all these people to live in dignity, the eight goals to achieve by 2015 are: 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 2. Achieve universal primary education 3. Promote gender equality and empower women 4. Reduce child mortality 5. Improve maternal health 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases 7. Ensure environmental sustainability 8. Develop a global partnership for development." -- from Text

× Achieving food security for all will require access to resources by the poor, better technologies for producing and distributing food supplies, more efficient and accountable governments, and timely and appropriate policies in the areas of food production, nutrition, natural resources, markets, and trade. IFPRI helps developing countries achieve these goals by providing research and analysis that can be used to consider different policy options for meeting food needs in a sustainable manner. Through its policy analyses, IFPRI directly supports developing-country policymakers, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and civil society in their efforts to help the poor. In addition, the Institute’s published research indirectly affects policy change through opinion leaders, donors, advisers, and media who influence national and international decisionmaking. IFPRI conducts food policy research and disseminates it through four research and outreach divisions, a communications division, and the 2020 Vision initiative. The focus of these divisions and initiatives is described in this brochure.

× Since 1985, the Chinese government has given high priority to building roads, particularly high-quality roads that connect industrial centers. This report evaluates the contribution roads have made to poverty reduction and economic growth in China over the last two decades. It disaggregates road infrastructure into different classes to account for differences in their quality, and then estimates the impact of road investments on overall economic growth, agricultural growth, urban growth, urban poverty reduction, and rural poverty reduction. The report makes the case for a greater focus on low-quality and rural roads in future infrastructure investment strategies in China. It does so by showing how investing in low-quality and rural roads will generate larger marginal returns, raise more people out of poverty per yuan invested, and reduce regional development disparity more sharply than investing in high-quality roads. The study’s findings will have considerable implications for China’s infrastructure policy. -- Authors' Abstract"

× In the past two decades, China has achieved world renown for reducing rural poverty. However, it is becoming harder to reduce poverty and inequality further in China, even though its economy continues to grow. This report compares the impact specific rural public investments can have on promoting growth and reducing poverty and inequality. Returns to these investments are calculated for the nation as a whole and for three economic zones in the west, central, and coastal regions of the country. Government expenditures that have the highest impact on poverty and growth include education, agricultural research and development, and rural infrastructure (roads, electricity, and telecommunications). Notably, spending on irrigation and anti-poverty loans had minimal impact. The report discusses the implications of these findings for setting future priorities for government investment. It also suggests avenues for future research and calls for a better understanding of how to improve the effectiveness of public resources. This report will be of interest to professionals involved in rural poverty reduction, rural development, agricultural growth, food security, and public investment policy.

× In 1999 global population surpassed 6 billion people, and this number rises by about 70-80 million people each year. "Six Billion and Counting" examines the consequences of continuing population growth for the world's resource systems and for national and global food security. Leisinger, Schmitt, and Pandya-Lorch offer here a sober analysis of a complex and alarming situation. They assess the progress the world has made in controlling population growth and point to the areas where future difficulties will lie. They describe the effects of rapid population growth on social and economic conditions and on natural resources, and they consider what population growth will mean for the food security of poor people and poor countries. In addition, the authors make clear how the roles of women and children in traditional societies affect birth rates. Six Billion and Counting" shows that neither the population pessimists, who predict a catastrophic exhaustion of natural resources, nor the population optimists, who foresee technological solutions for all of the problems raised by population growth, offer the most useful approach to this problem. Instead, Leisinger and his coauthors argue that new technologies mitigating the harmful effects of rapid population growth can give the world valuable time to take the complex and multifaceted steps needed to reduce population growth rates to sustainable levels."