Browsing by Subject "Food choices"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
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    The economics of food, nutrition, and poverty
    (2019-07) Rolando, Dominique
    Low-income households around the United States experience difficulties with food insecurity wherein they struggle to secure enough food for all of their household members. This issue becomes even more complex when considering the nutritional makeup of the food that they are able to secure. This issue is of importance to public policy, especially given rising rates of diet-related diseases among low-income individuals. This thesis explores public policy efforts aimed at improving the consumption of healthy and nutritious foods for low-income individuals. In this dissertation I first investigate the impact of increasing the payout of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payouts on low-income participants’ consumption of different food groups. Secondly, I compare the simulated impact on fruits and vegetables purchases of increasing the food budget of low-income households to providing them a discount on fruits and vegetables. Finally, I evaluate the preferences of food pantry clients towards healthy modifications to their food.
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    Essays on health, education and behavioral choices.
    (2010-04) Konishi(Zhao), Meng
    My dissertation is composed of two essays that investigate the interrelationship between consumers' health, education, behavioral choices, and perceptions. The first essay evaluates the impact of teenage smoking on schooling and estimates the lifetime income loss due to lower educational achievement and attainment caused by youth smoking. Using unusually rich data from China, the study shows that youth smoking can biologically reduce learning productivity and discourage motivation to go to school (where smoking is forbidden), resulting in lower educational outcomes and, consequently, reduced lifetime income. The second essay empirically analyzes the effect of a doctor diagnosis of hypertension (high blood pressure) on food demand and nutrient intake. The study shows that three quarters of the hypertensive population in China are unaware of their condition. Adoctor's diagnosis can lead consumers to update their perceptions about their health and, therefore, make better decisions for their food choices. The study finds that, after a diagnosis of hypertension, consumers significantly reduce their daily fat intake, especially the consumption of animal oil and pork. The effect is stronger for 2004 data, compared to the 1997 and 2000 data. This suggests that consumers have become more health conscious in recent years.