The effect of the fresh fruit and vegetable program on childhood obesity

Yiwei Qian, Rodolfo M. Nayga, Michael R. Thomsen, Heather L. Rouse

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

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 languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)260-275
Number of pages16
JournalApplied Economic Perspectives and Policy
Volume38
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016 Jun

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

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The effect of the fresh fruit and vegetable program on childhood obesity'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this