Full Citation
Title: Would a discount on fruits and vegetables provide more relative welfare to the poor? Evaluating the impact of policy mechanisms
Citation Type: Conference Paper
Publication Year: 2018
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Abstract: Food assistance is a highly controversial topic in the U.S., especially given that big programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cost billions of Dollars. Though these programs help promote food security, a concern for the provision of healthy diets to program participants remains. This paper compares the simulated impacts of food assistance similar to SNAP to two alternative policy mechanisms: a cashback program whereby participants are reimbursed for a set proportion of their fruits and vegetable expense, and a discount on the purchase price of fruits and vegetables. Using Nielsen Homescan data, a Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System is estimated to obtain the necessary parameters to obtain the impacts of these policies. The results make it apparent that households at high levels of poverty benefit more from assistance programs similar to SNAP, while those above the poverty line could benefit more from both the cashback and discount. The discount also appears to provide better gains to participating households than the cashback program.
Url: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/273848/files/Policy mechanism 7.25.2018.pdf
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Authors: Rolando, Dominique
Conference Name: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association
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Data Collections: IPUMS CPS
Topics: Health, Natural Resource Management
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