This study follows teens through young adulthood as they transition to independent living. We focus on a little studied issue: why some youths live in groups rather than alone or with parents. This choice is important because the size of the group has a substantial impact on the demand for...

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...

Previous work on the relationship between food insecurity and childhood overweight has lead to a wide array of answers – some have found a positive relationship, others no relationship, and still others a negative relationship. This previous work has shared one thing in common – all have...

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...

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...

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...

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...