Rational choice theory commonly assumes that the presence of unselected choices cannot impact which among the remaining choices is selected–-often referred to as “independence of irrelevant alternatives.†We show that such seemingly irrelevant alternatives influence choice in a...

NAREA Outstanding Master's Thesis Award, NAREA Master's Thesis Award of Merit, NAREA Distinguished Member Awards, NAREA Award for Outstanding Public Service Through Economics, and NAREA's Journal Article of the Year for 2008

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Direct and indirect attempts to increase parents’ fruit and vegetable purchases have had little, if any, success. Most of the disappointing results are reported in the grocery environment. In this context, embedding messages with social meaning may have a significant impact on current...

We use observational data from 22 elementary schools and over 48,000 child-day observations to examine the relationship between the number of fruit and vegetable items and the consumption patterns of children during school lunch. We find that each additional fruit or vegetable item that is...

This paper explores the relationship between income and eating behavior. To do this we examine choice in two food categories: milk and soft drinks. These categories have varieties differing in health qualities but either no differences in cost or lower cost for the healthier types. By examining...

Social critics have taken aim at modern production agriculture using a common theme: many food, health, and environmental problems are explained by corporate farms, agribusinesses, and fast-food restaurants failing to account for the full costs of their actions. How accurate is this diagnosis?...