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Do Means-Tested School Lunch Subsidies Change Children's Weekly Consumption Patterns?

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Author Info
Howard, Larry L. () (California State University, Fullerton)
Prakash, Nishith () (Dartmouth College)
Abstract

This article examines whether the means-tested component of the National School Lunch Program changes beneficiaries' dietary patterns by taking advantage of variation across public school districts in the financing of and demand for lunch and nutrition programs. Using data on fifth grade public elementary school children in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten (2003-2004), we find significant increases in weekly rates of consumption amongst fully and partially subsidized children. Our estimates also suggest that the increase was for items known to be a rich source of vitamins and minerals that are essential for children's health and development. The effects are larger for fully subsidized children relative to partially subsidized children, which suggests the nominal price of school lunch is a binding constraint for certain children on the margin of eligibility for the subsidies. To the extent that children from low-income households experience undernourishment with greater frequency, policy discussion focusing exclusively on the link between obesity and program participation is overlooking positive effects on those who are directly subsidized.

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Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 4427.

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Length: 46 pages
Date of creation: Sep 2009
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4427

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Related research
Keywords: National School Lunch Program; dietary patterns; subsidies;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Philip M. Gleason & Carol W. Suitor, 2003. "Eating at School: How the National School Lunch Program Affects Children's Diets," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, American Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 85(4), pages 1047-1061, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Joshua Angrist & Alan Krueger, 2001. "Instrumental Variables and the Search for Identification: From Supply and Demand to Natural Experiments," Working Papers 834, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Millimet, Daniel L. & Tchernis, Rusty & Husain, Muna, 2008. "School Nutrition Programs and the Incidence of Childhood Obesity," IZA Discussion Papers 3664, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Wang, C. Y. & Wang, Suojin & Carroll, R. J., 1997. "Estimation in choice-based sampling with measurement error and bootstrap analysis," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 65-86, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Hilary W. Hoynes & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, 2007. "Consumption Reponses to In-Kind Transfers: Evidence from the Introduction of the Food Stamp Program," Working Papers 0711, Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Imbens, Guido W & Angrist, Joshua D, 1994. "Identification and Estimation of Local Average Treatment Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 62(2), pages 467-75, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. repec:fth:prinin:455 is not listed on IDEAS
  8. Janet Currie, 2003. "U.S. Food and Nutrition Programs," NBER Chapters, in: Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, pages 199-290 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  9. Moffitt, Robert, 1983. "An Economic Model of Welfare Stigma," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(5), pages 1023-35, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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