The Political Economy of Food System Transformation Pathways to Progress in a Polarized World

Danielle Resnick, David M. Rubenstein Research Fellow, Brookings Institution, and Non-Resident Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI),Johan Swinnen, Managing Director of Systems Transformation, CGIAR, and Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Danielle Resnick is a David M. Rubenstein Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution and a Non-Resident Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). She was formerly a Senior Research Fellow and Governance Theme Leader at IFPRI (2013-2021), and a Research Fellow at the United Nations University-World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER, 2010-2013). Key research areas include the political economy of agriculture and food policy, decentralization, urban governance, informality, and democratization, with a regional specialization in sub-Saharan Africa where she has conducted fieldwork in more than a dozen countries.

Johan Swinnen is Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute and Managing Director of Systems Transformation, CGIAR. From 2005 to 2019, he was a Professor of Economics and Director of the LICOS Centre for Institutions & Economic Performance at KU Leuven and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels. He previously was also a Lead Economist at the World Bank (2003-2004) and economic adviser to the European Commission (1998-2001). He is a Fellow of Agricultural & Applied Economics Association and previously served as President of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (2012-2015).

1. Introduction: Political Economy of Food System Transformation, Danielle Resnick and Johan Swinnen
2. Facts, Interests, and Values: Identifying Points of Convergence and Divergence for Food Systems, Koen Deconinck
3. The Political Economy of Reforming Agricultural Support Policies, Rob Vos, Will Martin, and Danielle Resnick
4. From Re-instrumenting to Re-purposing Farm Support Policies, Kym Anderson and Anna Strutt
5. Policy Coalitions in Food Systems Transformation, Johan Swinnen and Danielle Resnick
6. Government Response to Ultra-Processed and Sugar Beverages Industries in Developing Nations: The Need to Build Coalitions Across Policy Sectors, Eduardo J. Gómez
7. Ultra-processed Food Environments: Aligning Policy Beliefs from the State, Market, and Civil Society, Jonathan Mockshell and Thea Nielsen Ritter
8. Asymmetric Power in Global Food System Advocacy, Jody Harris
9. The Political Economy of Bundling Socio-Technical Innovations to Transform Agri-Food Systems, Christopher B. Barrett
10. Sustainable Food and Farming: When Public Perceptions Depart from Science, Robert Paarlberg
11. Enabling Positive Tipping Points in Public Support for Food System Transformation: The Case of Meat Consumption, Lukas Paul Fesenfeld and Yixian Sun
12. Urban Food Systems Governance in Africa: Towards a Realistic Model for Transformation, Gareth Haysom and Jane Battersby
13. The Political Economy of Food System Transformation in the European Union, Alan Matthews, Jeroen Candel, Nel de Mûelenaere, and Pauline Scheelbeek
14. Tracking Progress and Generating Accountability for Global Food System Commitments, Stella Nordhagen and Jessica Fanzo
15. Conclusions, Danielle Resnick and Johan Swinnen