| Project: Food Stamps, Food Insecurity and Expenditures: A Simultaneous-Equation System |
| Award Year: 2003 |
| Amount of award, fiscal 2003: $70,000.00 |
| Institution: Steven Yen |
| Principal Investigator: Steven Yen |
| Status: Completed |
| Detailed Objective: The Food Stamp Program is the largest of U.S. food assistance programs, accounting for over half of total expenditures for food assistance. As a result, it is important to have tools for assessing program participation and for assessing the impacts of food stamps on the quality of diets of program participants. However, simplifying assumptions made in previous studies have led to empirical models that do not accurately reflect how consumers make decisions. More realistic models will enhance the understanding of food-insecure households' dietary behaviors.
The project will develop an econometric model to examine the relationships among Food Stamp Program participation, food insecurity, and food expenditures. Specifically, participation in the Food Stamp Program, food insecurity, and the effects of Food Stamp Program participation and food insecurity on food expenditures among the Food Stamp Program eligible and near-eligible households will be studied using a simultaneous equation system to address sample selection bias and simultaneity. The primary data source for the project is the 1996-97 National Food Stamp Program Survey conducted for USDA. |
| Topic: Food Security, SNAP/Food Stamp Program |
| Dataset: National Food Stamp Program Survey (NFSPS) |
Output:
Yen, S., M. Andrews, Z. Chen, and D. Eastwood. "Food Stamp Program Participation and Food Insecurity: An Instrumental Variables Approach," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 90, No. 1, February 2008. |