The study reported here explored the associations of body mass index (BMI), socio-economic status (SES), and beverage consumption in a very low-income population. A house-to-house survey was conducted in 2003 of 12,873 Mexican adults. The sample was designed to be representative of the poorest...

Poverty, both absolute and relative, is associated with poorer health. This is of particular concern in middle- and low-income countries facing a significant and growing burden of disease. There has been limited research specifically on whether interventions that increase income may foster...

Correlational studies have shown associations between social class and salivary cortisol suggestive of a causal link between childhood poverty and activity of the stress-sensitive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system. Using a quasi-experimental design, we evaluated the associations...

Violence against women is a major health and human rights problem yet there is little rigorous evidence as to how to reduce it. We take advantage of the randomized roll-out of Ecuador's cash transfer program to mothers to investigate how an exogenous increase in a woman's income affects domestic...

In 1999 Ecuador experienced an economic crisis that was characterized by drastic increases in prices and the eventual adoption of the dollar as its currency. While many reports show that household consumption decreased and poverty increased, there are no studies on the impact of the crisis on...

The debate over whether to provide food-assistance and the form that this assistance should take has a long history in economics. Despite the ongoing debate, little rigorous evidence exists that compares food-assistance in the form of cash versus in-kind. This paper uses a randomized evaluation...