Using data from a survey of Pennsylvania food processors, we investigate what firm-level characteristics make a processor more or less likely to buy agricultural inputs and ingredients though contracts. We find that over 20 percent of Pennsylvania processors use contracts, and over 44 percent of...

Advances in technology have made extraction of natural gas from deep shale formations economically viable. While unconventional shale gas development is seen as an economic benefit, concerns have been raised about the environmental and health risks associated with the extraction process. We...

Diet is important in determining health outcomes. Thus, it is important to understand the factors influencing dietary choice. Budget constraints are a common explanation for the poor dietary choices made by households in the U.S. We test this hypothesis by exploiting shocks to household budgets...