Insegurança alimentar e seus determinantes em países de blocos econômicos e acordos preferenciais de comércio

Abstract

The objective of this thesis was to analyze Food Insecurity (FI) from a comparative perspective between countries, focusing on identifying structural factors capable of explaining its differences over time and between distinct national realities. It starts from the understanding that FI results from the interaction between economic, productive, social, institutional, and environmental factors, which manifest themselves unequally among countries. In terms of material and methods, the thesis was developed from three complementary articles. Article 1 conducted a literature review on the main concepts and methods for measuring FI. Article 2 constructed a multidimensional indicator of FI for comparison between countries within economic blocs and preferential trade agreements, based on descriptive statistics, internal consistency analysis, and Principal Component Analysis with VARIMAX rotation. Article 3 analyzed the exogenous factors associated with FI in 25 countries, from 2016 to 2022, using a panel data model. The results indicated, in Article 1, that food insecurity (FI) is a multidimensional phenomenon and that its measurement requires the consideration of different analytical dimensions, while in Article 2, the findings showed the robustness of the constructed indicator and its suitability for comparison between countries. In Article 3, the results showed that exogenous socioeconomic, productive, institutional, and environmental factors are associated with variations in the phenomenon among the countries analyzed. Finally, the thesis contributes by articulating a critical literature review, the construction of a multidimensional indicator, and comparative econometric analysis within the same research agenda. The study broadens the understanding of the determinants of FI and offers support for more consistent diagnoses and for the formulation of international cooperation strategies more sensitive to structural inequalities.