Food Insecurity and Terrorism

This article investigates the relationship between food insecurity and terrorism for a cross country panel sample. Using an instrumental variable approach, we empirically find that greater food availability is associated with greater incidence of terrorism, but better food access is associated with reduced terrorism activities. The relationship is robust across alternate estimators and terrorism measures. By providing additional insights on the effects of specific food insecurity dimensions on terrorism, our findings support the growing number of policies and efforts to enhance global security through food security.