Does income inequality undermine food security? Evidence from MINT member countries in the context of the sustainable development goals

In recent times, income inequality has been linked to specific barriers to achieving food security, particularly in developing economies. Against this background, the study examines the effect of income inequality on food security in the MINT economies, Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey, from 1990 to 2023. Thus, using income inequality data from the Standardized World Income Inequality Database (SWIID), which provides the Gini Index from 1990 to 2023, where the food security proxy is employed in unification with the food production index, along with other control variables, including GDP per capita, urbanization, inflation, and trade openness. Results indicate a significant negative relationship between income inequality and food security, implying that increasing inequality limits access to food and reduces productivity in agricultural goods. Furthermore, urbanization (URB) is found to have a positive impact on food security. Also, inflation (IFL) negatively influences food security, and trade openness (TDE) has a weak direct effect but may indirectly affect access to food, depending on local policies. This restates the importance of formulating inclusive economic policy, managing inflation carefully, and planning for urban migration and trade strategically, so that food systems can be improved. The study contributes to the policy discourse by arguing for the inclusion of structural determinants of food insecurity and generating evidence to enhance food access in emerging economies characterized by persistent challenges of inequality. • Income inequality worsens food security in MINT countries. • Urbanization positively affects food production and access. • Inflation reduces food affordability, especially for the poor. • Economic growth supports food security when inclusively shared. • Trade openness has a limited direct effect without domestic support.