Ideas for Graduate Studies Research #1

I’m mainly interested in the impacts of economic systems on marginalized communities. Most can agree that the capitalist system has failed to deliver its promises to the poorest of the poor in the drive for globalization.  In my perspective, the capitalist model is fundamentally incompatible in servicing the poor and must be systematically changed for more equitable and sustainable development. My question is thus divided into threefold:

1. How is the current economic system (capitalist in paradigm, hybrid in theory, and a mish-mash of economic schools in practice) is impacting marginalized communities in the developing world?
2. How best can marginalized communities prepare for the impact of the increasing introduction of the current economic system into their economic and social spheres? (short term strategy)
3. How can the current economic system be changed so that it can work more in favour of marginalized communities? (long term strategy)

My intention is to use food security as an indicator to focus my research. Food security is chosen for a number of reasons:

1. Most marginalized communities are in rural areas or urban areas where agriculture is practiced (urban agriculture). Almost all economies in these marginalized areas are based on agricultural activities, on the production of food. Hence, the closest link between rural and global economies is food, specifically the import/export of food and food production related products (such as fertilizers or seeds).
2. Food security is a large indicator encompassing wider perspectives such as public health, market accessibility, and environmental sustainability.  Adequate food, with sufficient amount and nutrition, is the basis for healthy human development. Properly grown food should not deplete the soil, which is one of the most challenging problems in conventional agriculture methods, but rather build up the organic layers.
3. Food security is my own academic and working interest. The focus of my undergraduate studies was in development studies, economics, and food systems. Also, my working experiences can all be liked back to different aspects and manifestations of the concept of food security.

Hence, I propose to investigate the linkage between the current global economic system and marginalized communities by looking at food security as a case study.