Can an index be constructed to assess governments’ commitment to reduce hunger? This paper argues for the need for such an index and outlines one way of constructing it. We use secondary data to construct the Hunger Reduction Commitment Index (HRCI) for 21 developing countries.

The structure of this paper is as follows: Scetion I is the an introduction. Section II provides an analysis of the initial condition of the former CPEs on the brink of transformation, and suggests why standard macroeconomic stabilisation policies may not be appropriate. section III records and...