From 1998 to 2009 I find that the average time between U.S. households' grocery shopping trips has steadily increased from 4.7 to 6.2 days, and from 1998 to 2006 per capita monthly consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables has decreased from 130 to 112 oz. To understand these changes, a dynamic...

This paper examines whether and how changes in relationship status (i. e., cohabitation, marriage, separation, or divorce) affect individuals’ smoking behavior and body weight. Using German Socio-Economic Panel data, this study accounts for differences between treated (i. e., those affected by...

Households have decreased their grocery shopping frequency from once every 4.7 days in 1998 to once every 6.3 days in 2009. To understand this change, an optimal control model is developed of a utility maximizing household that chooses when to shop, how much to purchase, and their piece wise...

This paper investigates time inconsistencies in food consumption based on a field experiment at a college canteen where participants repeatedly select and consume lunch menus. The design features a convex non-monetary budget in a natural environment and satisfies the consume-on-receipt...

Medicare Part D provides prescription drug coverage through Medicare approved plans offered by private insurance companies and HMOs. In this paper, we study the role of current prescription drug use and health risks, related expectations, and subjective factors in the demand for prescription...

Socially responsible behavior is crucial for slowing the spread of infectious diseases. However, economic and epidemiological models of disease transmission abstract from prosocial motivations as a driver of behaviors that impact the health of others. In an incentivized study, we show that a...

We investigate the relationship between political attitudes and prosociality in a survey of a representative sample of the U.S. population during the first summer of the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that an experimental measure of prosociality correlates positively with adherence to protective...

We investigate the relationship between political attitudes and prosociality in a survey of a representative sample of the U.S. population during the first summer of the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that an experimental measure of prosociality correlates positively with adherence to protective...

We examine an assumed link between reducing inequality in income distribution, namely reducing the Gini coefficient on one hand, and improving public health in general and lowering the incidence and severity of COVID-19 in particular on the other hand. The Gini coefficient can be shown to...