Thursday 24th November 2016 - Conference
Track 6: Risk Potpourri (Chair: Sandra Seno-Alday)
Developing a Scale to Understand Willingness to Sacrifice Personal Safety for Companion Animals
Managing the risk of dingo-human conflict on Fraser Island
International Trade Engagement and Food Security Risk
Keywords: Network analysis, food security, landlocked countries, risk
Author: Dr Sandra Seno-Alday
Affiliation: The University of Sydney Business School
Email address: Sandra.seno-alday@sydney.edu.au
Lay summary:
When countries engage with each other (e.g., through trade, political alliances, etc), network ties and relationships are formed. The types and levels of engagement make an impact not only on the risk exposure of the individual countries in the network, but also on the nature of risk in the relationship network itself. This study examines how the nature of the agricultural trade network of a landlocked country (Laos) makes an impact on that country’s food security risk.
Abstract:
Landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) experience a very different set of economic development challenges compared to non-landlocked countries (MacKellar et al 2000, Faye et al 2004). Unique geographies make LLDCs significantly dependent on their neighbours, thus increasing their vulnerability to a wide range of risks. LLDCs need to reach out and actively engage with adjacent countries in order to mitigate risks, but the nature and level of their engagement can also give rise to a different set of risks. There is an urgent need to understand the complexities around how different economic actors engage with each other, and how these resulting relationships make an impact on various types of risk: landlockedness presents a uniqe and interesting context within which to investigate this.
This study aims to explore the impact of an LLDC’s engagement in international trade and investment on its food security risk. In particular, the study focuses on the context of Laos, one of the poorest LLDCs located in Southeast Asia with the highest per capita natural resource wealth. The country opened its economy to the global market in the mid-1980s, leading to an influx of foreign direct investment particularly in hydropower and mining. Its greater engagement in the global marketplace has led to strong economic growth, while creating dependency on the extraction of natural resources for export purposes. This raises questions related to the potential ‘Dutch disease’ effect on the national economy, and the effect of extensive development of hydropower and mining investment on the country’s capacity to produce and procure food.
This study employs network analysis methods to explore the nature of agricultural trade relationships developed by Laos specifically with adjacent countries in Southeast Asia from 1990 to 2014. Bilateral agricultural trade data from the United Nations (UN) Comtrade database is used to construct 25 agricultural trade networks between Laos and its regional neigbours (i.e., one network for each year of the study). The nature and topology of the networks are analysed over time, using a range of network measures. Particular attention is paid to the evolution of the country’s position in the Southeast Asian agricultural trade network, and the impact of this network position on the country’s food security risk.
Recent theoretical and methodological advancements in network analysis have created significant opportunities to apply network approaches to understanding the dynamics of complex phenomena. Indeed, risk analysis scholars have begun to draw on network tools to analyse risk in systems (see for example Holmgren 2006). The study showcases the potential application of network analysis methods to understand how the nature of engagement, relationships, and interconnections through the development of regional trade networks affect a landlocked country’s food security risk.
When countries engage with each other (e.g., through trade, political alliances, etc), network ties and relationships are formed. The types and levels of engagement make an impact not only on the risk exposure of the individual countries in the network, but also on the nature of risk in the relationship network itself. This study examines how the nature of the agricultural trade network of a landlocked country (Laos) makes an impact on that country’s food security risk.
Abstract:
Landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) experience a very different set of economic development challenges compared to non-landlocked countries (MacKellar et al 2000, Faye et al 2004). Unique geographies make LLDCs significantly dependent on their neighbours, thus increasing their vulnerability to a wide range of risks. LLDCs need to reach out and actively engage with adjacent countries in order to mitigate risks, but the nature and level of their engagement can also give rise to a different set of risks. There is an urgent need to understand the complexities around how different economic actors engage with each other, and how these resulting relationships make an impact on various types of risk: landlockedness presents a uniqe and interesting context within which to investigate this.
This study aims to explore the impact of an LLDC’s engagement in international trade and investment on its food security risk. In particular, the study focuses on the context of Laos, one of the poorest LLDCs located in Southeast Asia with the highest per capita natural resource wealth. The country opened its economy to the global market in the mid-1980s, leading to an influx of foreign direct investment particularly in hydropower and mining. Its greater engagement in the global marketplace has led to strong economic growth, while creating dependency on the extraction of natural resources for export purposes. This raises questions related to the potential ‘Dutch disease’ effect on the national economy, and the effect of extensive development of hydropower and mining investment on the country’s capacity to produce and procure food.
This study employs network analysis methods to explore the nature of agricultural trade relationships developed by Laos specifically with adjacent countries in Southeast Asia from 1990 to 2014. Bilateral agricultural trade data from the United Nations (UN) Comtrade database is used to construct 25 agricultural trade networks between Laos and its regional neigbours (i.e., one network for each year of the study). The nature and topology of the networks are analysed over time, using a range of network measures. Particular attention is paid to the evolution of the country’s position in the Southeast Asian agricultural trade network, and the impact of this network position on the country’s food security risk.
Recent theoretical and methodological advancements in network analysis have created significant opportunities to apply network approaches to understanding the dynamics of complex phenomena. Indeed, risk analysis scholars have begun to draw on network tools to analyse risk in systems (see for example Holmgren 2006). The study showcases the potential application of network analysis methods to understand how the nature of engagement, relationships, and interconnections through the development of regional trade networks affect a landlocked country’s food security risk.
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