The organization of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, retail food industry was analyzed to determine whether spatial competition influenced the cost and availability of food items. Using a spatial competition gravity variable, the costs of two separate market baskets were analyzed in January 2009, and...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed and adopted a new set of meal pattern requirements for the National School Lunch Program that will allow schools to claim 6 cents more in lunch reimbursement rates. This study analyzes the food costs of school menus in 2005 that met many of the...

This paper surveys the literature on pollinator declines and related concerns regarding global food security. Methods for valuing the economic risks associated with pollinator declines are also reviewed. A computable general equilibrium (CGE) approach is introduced to assess the effects of a...

We examine how changes in yield variability affect the welfare of cereal grain and oilseed buyers and producers around the world. We simulate trade patterns and welfare for 21 countries with a Ricardian trade model that incorporates bilateral trade costs and crop yield distributions. The model...

While there is mixed evidence of the impact of food assistance programs on obesity, there is general agreement that the food-insecure are at higher risk of obesity and obesity-related diseases. Food assistance programs, originally designed to overcome a lack of available food, now need to...

This paper examines the impacts of the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact (Compact) on the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program using an autoregressive-moving average (ARMA) model and data from Boston and Hartford. While the results for Boston indicate that the difference between the net...

With weather index insurance expanding and common property resources diminishing in low-income agricultural areas, it is essential to understand the potential effects of such insurance on resources that serve as vital input bases for low-income households. Using simple analytical constructs, we...