The Hamilton method for estimating CPI bias is simple, intuitive, and has been widely adopted. We show that the method confiates CPI bias with variation in cost-of-living across income levels. Assuming a single price index across the income distribution is inconsistent with the downward sloping...

It is well documented that individuals do not spend SNAP benefits smoothly over the month after receipt. Rather, recipients spend a disproportionate share of benefits at the beginning of the benefit month. This has costs for recipients and stores. There is also evidence that other income...

The Hamilton method for estimating CPI bias is simple, intuitive, and has been widely adopted. We show that the method confiates CPI bias with variation in cost-of-living across income levels. Assuming a single price index across the income distribution is inconsistent with the downward sloping...

Secular trends in health outcomes related to dietary quality have changed substantially over the past three decades. The objective of this study is to decompose changes in dietary quality over 1977-2008 into the biological effects of age, contemporaneous effects of time period and group...

This paper uses stochastic dominance to measure changes in the distribution of overall dietary quality in the U.S. over the period 1989{2008. Diet quality is often used as as a proxy for wellbeing and an outcome variable for a wide variety of interventions. For the population as a whole, we find...

This paper examines how price shocks of energy resources including gasoline, natural gas, electricity and heating degree days affect three indicators of food insufficiency at a household level. Using the Current Population Survey-Food Security Supplement combined with energy price data from the...

This is the 50,000th paper submitted to AgEcon Search!

Government transfers to individuals are often given labels indicating that they are designed to support the consumption of particular goods. Standard economic theory implies that the labeling of cash transfers or cash-equivalents should have no effect on spending patterns. We study the UK Winter...