RES-ECON 107: Hunger in a Global Economy

Syllabus

Example syllabus only – exact content subject to change. Please see your instructor’s syllabus for the current term for your specific course’s guidelines

Professor: Dr. Debi Prasad Mohapatra
@email (preferred method of communication)
Teaching Assistant(s): Oluwafisayo Ajay (@email)

Mode of Instruction: In-person classroom
Weekly Meetings: Tu Th 4:00 PM -5:15 PM
Room: Herter Hall room 231

Office Hours: Th 2:45 PM-3:30 PM (Stockbridge 306B)

Any Questions: Please E-mail me for an appointment, and for any other class-related questions

Course Objectives

  • Explore the causes of hunger (chronic undernutrition) from an economic perspective.
  • Understand how population growth and economic development are increasing the demand for food.
  • Assess the food supply prospects to meet affordable needs while sustaining the environment and responding to climate change.
  • Evaluate how our global economy, where increased trade links even the poorest urban and rural residents in developing countries to market forces, affects hunger.
  • Discuss policy choices. What policies are effective, and which would you choose in order to improve food security for poor families around the world?

Why ResEc 107 is a General Education Social & Behavioral Sciences- Diversity Global (SB-DG) Course: (see https://www.umass.edu/gened/objectives-designations/learning-objectives)

As a General Education course, our goal is to address fundamental questions, ideas, and methods of analysis in the social sciences, apply these methods of analysis to the real-world problem of hunger, and stretch our minds. Economics as a social science provides us with basic analytical tools with which to look at the world. These tools can help us to understand why hunger exists and is persistent around the world. But they do not provide complete answers or perspectives, and part of our job is to recognize their useful applications and their limitations. We do this through critical thinking using data to analyze food supply and demand and then writing about and discussing what we know as well as what we want to know. Students in this class will learn interdisciplinary theories and knowledge necessary to comprehend hunger related issues from diverse social, cultural, and political perspectives. Our global focus is on hunger where it is most prevalent in Africa and Southern Asia; where it is present but declining, for example in East Asia and Latin America; and where it persists at significant levels in developed countries in Northern America and Europe.

Required Reading

  1. The World Food Problem: Toward Ending Undernutrition in the Third World. Howard D. Leathers and Phillips Foster. 5th Edition. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2017
  2. 2025 World Population Data Sheet. Population Reference Bureau, Inc., Washington, DC. Available online to download and print the pdf available on Canvas
  3. Other readings as assigned. Available on CANVAS (our on-line course site).

CANVAS Course Site

  1. Log in to canvas by entering your OIT NetID and Password at the upper left. After logging in, under Courses, click on RES-ECON 107.
  2. What will you find on our course CANVAS site?
    1. Any class-related announcements
    2. Assignments of All Types
    3. Week by Week Modules
      1. Every week—Lecture Slides will be posted
      2. Regular Quizzes

You are responsible for reading the assigned readings. You are also responsible for checking Canvas for updates, class materials, homework, due dates, etc. Hence there will be no excuses for not knowing what is or will be happening in the course.

Check Canvas Regularly!

Diversity and Inclusion

It is my intent that students from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives be well served by this course, that students' learning needs be addressed both in and out of class, and that the diversity that students bring to this class be viewed as a resource, strength and benefit. It is my intent to present materials and activities that are respectful of diversity: gender, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, and culture. Your suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. Please let me know ways to improve the effectiveness of the course for you personally or for other students or student groups.

Accommodation Statement

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to providing an equal educational opportunity for all students. If you have a documented physical, psychological, or learning disability on file with Disability Services (DS), you may be eligible for reasonable academic accommodations to help you succeed in this course. If you have a documented disability that requires an accommodation, please notify me within the first two weeks of the semester so that we may make appropriate arrangements. For further information, please visit Disability Services (https://www.umass.edu/disability/)

Academic Honesty Statement

Since the integrity of the academic enterprise of any institution of higher education requires honesty in scholarship and research, academic honesty is required of all students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in all programs of the University. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and facilitating dishonesty. Appropriate sanctions may be imposed on any student who has committed an act of academic dishonesty. Instructors should take reasonable steps to address academic misconduct. Any person who has reason to believe that a student has committed academic dishonesty should bring such information to the attention of the appropriate course instructor as soon as possible. Instances of academic dishonesty not related to a specific course should be brought to the attention of the appropriate department Head or Chair. Since students are expected to be familiar with this policy and the commonly accepted standards of academic integrity, ignorance of such standards is not normally sufficient evidence of lack of intent (http://www.umass.edu/dean_students/codeofconduct/acadhonesty/).

A statement about use of A.I. tools

AI is allowed with attribution: Use of AI tools, including ChatGPT, is permitted in this course for students who wish to use them. To adhere to our scholarly values, students must cite any AI-generated material that informed their work (this includes in-text citations and/or use of quotations, and in your reference list). Using an AI tool to generate content without proper attribution qualifies as academic dishonesty.

Department of Resource Economics’ Student Learning Objectives (SLOs)

This course contributes to the following student learning objectives and experiential goals for undergraduate students in the Department of Resource Economics:

Student Learning Objective (SLO)Component(s) of the Course that Meet the objective
SLO #2: Understand and master microeconomics as a foundational theory.We go over the demand and supply framework and use it to analyze the hunger problem.
SLO #4: Acquire a broad knowledge in related fields in order to be well-versed in current economic and policy issues.We discuss current issues related to the world hunger problem, SDGs, and economic policies to address the related supply and demand issues.
SLO #5-a): Communicate effectively orally.Oral presentations at the end of class
SLO #5-b): Communicate effectively in writing.Caseworks on the hunger problem and related policies
SLO #5-c): Communicate effectively using current digital and multimedia technology.The world now discussion posting – it simulates the way Twitter posting works
SLO #8: Consistently foster safe, fair, open, and diverse professional and social environments.

Classroom environment

I value diversity in the classroom and will strive to foster an inclusive atmosphere that provides a good learning environment for all students. By the same token, I expect all students to be respectful of others in the class.

SLO #9: Continually integrate new knowledge gained from a variety of sources, with ability to discern the quality of the source, in order to make well-informed decisions.In this course, we use recent data on world population, world hunger, and famine situation. We investigate the heterogeneity in food distribution across the world and discuss the correct policies to address those.
Experiential Goal 

EG #1: Enhance teamwork/collaborative skills through

a. Group work, activities, assignments, etc.,

The extra credit assignment in this course is a group presentation where students work in groups and present a topic related to world hunger.
EG #2. Experience active learning strategies: flipped classrooms, debate, field trips, economic experiments and games, presentations, student- response system (e.g., iClicker, Google Forms),etc.The world now discussion posting,

Course Outline

  1. What is Hunger and Who Are the Hungry?
    1. Extreme Undernutrition: Famine
    2. Defining and Measuring Undernutrition
  2. The Basic Economics of Food Demand and Supply
    1. Tools for Analyzing Food Markets
    2. Applying the Tools to Study Undernutrition
  3. How Much is World Food Demand Going to Grow Due to Population and Income Growth?
  4. Can World Food Supply Meet Demand?
  5. Approaches to/Policies for Fighting Hunger
    1. Demand Side: Raising Incomes, Changing Demographics, Subsidizing Consumption
    2. Supply Side: Direct Subsidies, Access to Credit, Technological Change
  6. An End to World Hunger?

Course Work Overview—The Weights and Dates Making Up Your Final Grade

Course Work% of Final Grade
Cases (1-4)
Due dates 11:59 pm EST on the course schedule below		25%
The World Now Discussion Postings (1-4)
Due at 11:59 pm EST on dates listed in the course schedule below		5%
Quizzes (1-5)
Check Canvas regularly for deadlines		5%
Exams65%

Exam 1: Tentatively scheduled for March-12 in class

Exam 2: Tentatively scheduled for April-23 in class

Cumulative Final Exam: May 12, 2026, from 6 pm to 8 pm (Herter Hall room 231)

Grades from Exams will be computed as follows: Of these three exams, you will be allowed to drop the lowest grade. The resulting two best grades will be used to calculate your “exam score”.

I will not allow makeup exams; should you need to miss an exam (for whatever reason), the grade for this missed exam (i.e. zero) will be dropped from the exam score calculation. The only reason for allowing a makeup exam is an unsurmountable situation (unexpected death of a family member, severe illness, etc.), in which case you will have to notify me in advance (i.e. not 1 hour before the test or the day after the test) and bring proof of the situation (e.g. Physician’s note).

Grading Table

Final grades will be calculated according to the following minimum cutoff points:

A = 94, A- = 90, B+ = 87, B = 83 B- = 80, C+ = 77, C = 73, C- = 70, D+ = 65, D = 60 and F < 60.

Details of What You Do in Each of the Course Elements

(See CANVAS for Additional Details)

  • Cases: In these cases, you do individual research, problem solving, written interpretation of readings, discussion of opposing sides of food issues, and development of your own opinions.
     
  • The World Now: You will contribute to discussion forums by posting material on current food issues and commenting on posts by other students. Topics will include global hunger, economic, and trade stories.
     
  • Quizzes (Points are for Participation – so make sure to attempt the quizzes): Quizzes are made up of a number of multiple-choice questions based on the materials covered in the class. You will get full points from attempting the quiz before the quiz deadline.
     
  • EXAM 1, EXAM 2, and the cumulative FINAL EXAM: Our exams will have multiple choice, short answer and essay format questions.

The Respectful Learning Environment

We are all responsible for maintaining a classroom environment that is conducive to learning and discussion. In order to assure that we all have the opportunity to gain from time spent in class, I propose these standards for creating a respectful learning environment.

  • The instructor, teaching assistants, and students notice and respect each other.
  • Respect includes appropriate humor, enjoyment, or other indications of a comfortable and pleasant classroom community.
  • We are on time for class: no late arrivals and no packing up early.
  • We avoid disruptions during class such as private conversations, using a laptop or cellphone for something other than current classroom work, reading newspapers, and, of course, sleeping.
  • We avoid language that is racist, sexist, or homophobic or in other ways may exclude members of our campus and classroom community.

Key Dates

(Subject to revision)

Exam 1 : March 12, 2026, in class

Exam 2 : April 23, 2026, in class

Final Exam: May 12, 2026, Herter Hall room 231

Casework Due Dates: (i) February 20 – casework 1

  1. March 6 – casework 2
  2. March 27 – casework 3
  3. April 27 – casework 4

!!Check Canvas regularly for deadlines for cases, assignments and blog post!!

Course Schedule

(subject to revision)

 

Week 1 (Jan 29): Thinking about Hunger in a Global Economy

Reading: WFP Preface & Ch 1

Week 2 (Feb 3, Feb 5): Famines, Measuring Chronic Undernutrition

Reading: WFP Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4

Week 3 (Feb 10, Feb 12): Prevalence of Chronic Undernourishment in the World Assignment: Discussion Forum Post 1 due Mon Feb-11 11:59 PM Reading: Ch. 15 & Ch 5, Ch. 6 & SOFI

Week 4 (Feb 17): Using Economic Tools to Understand Change in Food Markets

Assignment: Case 1 is due on Feb-21 at 11:59 PM

Reading: WFP Ch. 7, p. 97-119

Week 5 (Feb 24, Feb 26): Using Economic Tools to Understand Change in Food Markets

Reading: WFP Ch. 7, p. 97-119

Week 6 (Mar 3, Mar 5): Price Elasticity, Supply Elasticity, and Food Price Spikes Food Demand: The Dynamics & Economics of Population Growth

Reading: WFP Ch. 7, p. 119-124, WFP Ch. 8, p. 121-132; World Population Data Sheet Review for Midterm 1 on March 6

Assignment: Discussion Forum Post 2 due Mon March-3 11:59 PM Case 2 due March 7, 11:59 PM

Week 7 (Mar 10, Mar 12): Midterm 1 on March 12

Reading: WFP Ch. 7, p. 119-124

Week 8 (Mar17, Mar 19): No class due to spring break

Week 9 (Mar 24, Mar 26): Price Elasticity, Supply Elasticity, and Food Price Spikes Food Demand: The Dynamics & Economics of Population Growth

Reading: WFP Ch. 7, p. 119-124, WFP Ch. 8, p. 121-132; World Population Data Sheet

Assignment: Casework 3 due Mar-28 11:59 PM

Week 10 (Mar 31, Apr 2): Income Growth and Predicting Overall Food Demand Growth

Reading: World Population Prospects, WFP Chs. 9 & 10 & “UN Raises Projected World Population”

Assignment: Discussion Forum Post 3 due Fri Apr-4 11:59 PM

Week 11 (Apr 7, Apr 9): Predicting Future Demand, Economic Growth, & Turning to the Economics of Supply

Reading: WFP Ch. 8, Chs. 11, 12

Week 12 (Apr 14, Apr 16): The Future of Agricultural Production & Turning to Policy to Reduce Hunger

Reading: WFP Chs. 13 & 14, “Genetically Engineered Crops”, Controversy over World Food

Prize & WFP Ch. 16

Week 13 (Apr 21, Apr 23): Policy for Reducing Hunger; Policies to Increase the Purchasing Power of the Poor

Reading: WFP Chs. 19, 20

Assignment: Review for Midterm 2 on April 21

Midterm 2 on Apr 23

Week 14 (Apr 28, Apr 30): Policies to Reduce Hunger; Issues Regarding Food Subsidies & Food Aid

Assignment: Case 4 due April 28, 11:59 PM

Discussion Forum Post 4 due May 2 at 11:59 PM

Reading: WFP Chs. 19, 20, 21 & 22;

Week 15 (May 5, May 7): Wrap up: An End to World Hunger? What Will It Take?

Reading: “How India Feeds...”, “Brazil Makes Headway...” & “Our Battle to End Hunger”

FINAL EXAM: May 12, 2026