Using 2008 LSMS data for Côte d’Ivoire, we study the welfare implications of the price increase of key imported staple food—rice—and consider the consumption smoothing effect of locally produced food and cash crop varieties. While middle income urban households are adversely affected by...

Dramatic food price spikes in recent years have stimulated debate on the welfare implications of food price risk. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the number of undernourished people in sub-Saharan Africa rose to a record 265 million in 2009. There is a...