摘要：ANALYSESof world food prospects usually concentrate on the alleged limita-tions of agricultural resources and rapid population growth. The likely ef-fects of rapid income growth in the most populous parts of the world are generally neglected, as are the continuing sharp decline in population growth rates and price responses in terms of input or output substitution. Concerns about future food production reflect doubts about the ability of agri-cultural research to maintain its outstanding performance of the post-World War II period, whether because further scientific breakthroughs may not be forthcoming or because governments may not be willing to fund agricultural research sufficiently. Concern also exists about soil erosion or degradation, declining water quality, dimin-ishing germplasm resources, and further increases in cultivatable land or water sup-plies. In this article, an assessment is made of the argument that a growing imbalance exists between world population numbers and the world's ability to feed them. It is argued that such problems as exist are mostly man-made and can be corrected. In particular, poor policies and the absence of effective property rights are responsible for many of the problems affecting the resource base
