Abstract
This paper investigates how the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), a nutrition assistance program that provides funding for the distribution of free fresh fruits and vegetables to students in participating schools, affects childhood obesity using a panel data set of Arkansas public schoolchildren with two different approaches. First, we combine matching methodology and differencein-differences (DID) analysis. Second, we use the synthetic control method to compare each FFVP participating school to a similar, albeit synthetic, control school. Both analyses show that FFVP program causes an economically meaningful reduction in the obesity outcome of participating children.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 260-275 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy |
Volume | 38 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2016 Jun |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author (2016).
Keywords
- Body mass index
- Childhood obesity
- Difference-in-differences
- Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program
- Matching
- Synthetic control
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Development
- Economics and Econometrics