Table 1

Variable description, measurement source and expected sign

VariableDescriptionData sourceExpected sign
Food security (FS) sustainabilityIt captures a country’s progress towards achieving sustainability food security (SDG2). It is measured on a scale from 0 to 100. Where 0 indicates poor sustainability, and 100 represents quality sustainabilityUnited Nations Department of Economic and Social AffairsN/A
Independent variable
External debtMeasured as external debt flows as a percentage of GDPWDI+
Foreign direct investment (FDI)Measured as FDI flows as a percentage of GDPWDI+
Remittances (RM)International remittances as a percentage of GDPWDI+
Portfolio investment (PORT)Foreign portfolio investment flows as a percentage of GDPWDI+
Moderating variable
Partnership for the goalsIt captures a country’s progress towards partnership with other goals (SDG 17). It is measured on a scale from 0 to 100. Where 0 indicates poor partnership relationship, and 100 represents quality partnership relationshipUNDESA+
Control variables
Gross domestic product (GDP)Gross domestic product annual growth rateWorld Bank+
Gross capital formation (GCF)Gross capital formation as a percentage of GDPWorld Bank+
Government expenditure on agriculture (GEA)Government expenditure on agriculture as a percentage of GDPReSAKSS+
Population growth (PG)Population growth as a percentage of GDPWorld Bank+
Urbanization (UB)Urban population as a percentage of the total populationWorld Bank+
Source(s): Author designed, 2025

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