Facilitating healthy eating among young people, particularly among minorities who are at high risk for gaining excess weight, is at the forefront of current policy discussions and food program reviews. We investigate the effects of social interactions and relative prices on fruit and vegetable...

Facilitating healthy eating among young people, particularly among minorities who are at high risk for gaining excess weight, is at the forefront of the current policy discussions in the U.S. We investigate the effects of social interactions and relative prices on fruit and vegetable consumption...

We investigate the effects of parents, best friends, and relative prices on fruit and vegetable consumption by African American youths using behavioral data from the Family and Community Health Study and area-specific food prices from the Quarterly Food-at-Home Price Database. We construct a...

Paper for presentation at the Northeastern Agricultural & Resource Economics Association’s Workshop on Economics and Child Nutrition Programs, AAEA & NAREA Joint Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 23, 2011.

In 1993, the State of Iowa, through waivers, implemented reforms to its welfare program creating the Family Investment program (FIP), a program similar to the Federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program created in 1996. This paper examines the experiences of individuals and...

Paper for presentation at the Northeastern Agricultural & Resource Economics Association’s Workshop on Economics and Child Nutrition Programs, AAEA & NAREA Joint Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 23, 2011.

In this paper, the authors examine welfare participation dynamics in Iowa from 1993 to 1996, the initial years of Iowa's welfare reform. Analyses of participation in the Family Investment Program (FIP) during its first two years show that, on average, FIP recipients stayed fewer months in the...

In 1993, the State of Iowa reformed its welfare program by creating the Family Investment Program (FIP), a program designed to help its participants achieve economic self-sufficiency. This paper examines the experiences of individuals and families who leave FIP. Specifically, the study explores...

Iowa experienced sharp decreases in Food Stamp Program (FSP) enrollment in the last years of the 1990s. This period followed significant changes in social assistance programs in the state, the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, and a period of...

Using Iowa state administrative data for the period 1993-95, this paper explores why some low-income households successfully leave public assistance while others who leave later return. The authors examine the role of employment, child support, earnings, and other support such as the Food Stamp...