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A fractional imputation method is applied to Iowa administrative data to deal with a problem of missing data. The effects of local labour market conditions and mobility of household heads [...]

At the centre of the debate on welfare reform is whether incentives-based systems help poor families move out of poverty into jobs. Recent data from the first Survey of Programme [...]

Background: Low socioeconomic status is associated with poor diet, food insufficiency, and poor child health. Hispanic households have disproportionately low incomes. Acculturation-related changes may augment the effects of poverty on children's diet and health. Objective: The goal was to determine the associations that acculturation, measured by parents' language use, and income have with dietary intakes and food insufficiency among Hispanic youths. Design: Data on 2985 Hispanic youths aged 4-16 y were from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994). Nutrient intake data were from one 24-h dietary recall. The analysis was controlled for demographic, socioeconomic, and program variables. Results: Parents' exclusive use of Spanish was associated in bivariate analyses with differences in intakes of energy, protein, sodium, and folate and in percentages of energy from fat and saturated fat. When other factors were controlled for, less acculturation was associated with differences in intakes of energy and sodium and in percentages of energy from fat and saturated fat. Individuals in poorer households had higher intakes of energy, protein, sodium, and some micronutrients. Although not significant for all indicators of food insufficiency, consistent patterns showed that household food insufficiency decreased with less acculturation (odds ratio: 0.4; 95% CI: 0.2, 0.7 for adult meal size reduced) and increased with low income [odds ratio: 5.9 (3.0, 11.7) for not enough food and 5.4 (2.2, 13.4) for child meal size reduced]. Conclusions: Both acculturation and poverty have roles in children's diets and in household food insufficiency. Culturally specific public health and nutrition education should complement efforts to improve the financial security of low-income households. KEY WORDS Acculturation, income, poverty, diet, food insecurity, food insufficiency, Hispanics, youths, children, third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, NHANES III

This study examines the dynamics of welfare programme participation during the initial period (1993-1995) of programme reforms at the state-level in Iowa. The programme changes for the state were remarkably [...]

An analysis of the structure of demand was performed on household data, classified into income groups for urban Indonesia. A demographically augmented linearized almost ideal demand system was used to [...]

The continued emergence of China's economy leads to an increase in beer consumption and importation of barley. China's transition to a market economy has resulted in beer market expansion due to consumers' change in food consumption pattern and pouring in of foreign investments. A rise to 1.3 million metric tons(mmt) of imported barley in 1994, which is used in the production of beer, has been recorded to satisfy the growing demand for beer. Demand for beer and wine is found to be elastic to income but inelastic to own and cross prices.

The comparative advantage of pork-producing countries are discussed. International competitiveness in the pork industry is generally difficult to evaluate because of the existence of different marketing forms for the product. However, by limiting the scope of analysis to wholesale cuts and their prices net of transport expenses, it was found that both the US and Canada enjoyed several advantages over other countries.

McDonald's Corp., one of the largest buyers of meat in the U.S. fast-food industry, recently adopted a policy that prohibits its direct suppliers from using medically important antibiotics as growth [...]

Background: Nutritious underutilized foods (NUFs) significantly contribute to sustainable dietary diversity but are often unused for many reasons.Objective: We assessed the influence of food security status (FSS) and anemia-related knowledge (ARK) on perceptions about Solanum torvum(turkey berry) and Rhynchophorus phoenicis Fabricius(palm weevil larvae) among Ghanaian caregivers.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 891 caregivers (aged 20-49 years), who have children 6 to 59 months old, from Upper Manya Krobo district (Eastern region), Kumasi metropolitan (Ashanti region), Ho municipality (Volta region), La-Nkwantanang-Madina, and Ga West municipality (Greater-Accra region), Ghana. Food security status, ARK, and perceptions about the 2 NUFs were obtained using pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Logistic regression models were used to determine effect of FSS and ARK on perception outcomes.Results: Thirty-six percent of caregivers were food secure, while 13.9%, 28.4%, and 21.7%, respectively, were mildly, moderately, and severely food insecure. Most caregivers (62.0%) scored above 70% on ARK. High favorable perception was significantly lower for palm weevil larvae than that for turkey berry. Food secure caregivers were 4.5 times more likely to have poor favorable perceptions about palm weevil larvae than food insecure caregivers (P= .03). However, food secure caregivers were 2.9 times more likely to have high favorable perceptions about turkey berry than food insecure caregivers (P< .001). Caregivers’ knowledge about anemia was associated with high favorable perception about turkey berry by 3.3-fold (95% confidence interval: 2-5.5, P= .001).Conclusions: Nutrition education about turkey berry and palm weevil larvae is needed to encourage their use for promoting nutrient density of complementary and household foods.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture operates several food assistance programs aimed at alleviating food insecurity. We study whether participation in both participation in both SNAP and WIC alleviates food insecurity compared with participation in SNAP alone. We bound underlying causal effects by applying nonparametric treatment effect methods that allow for endogenous selection and underreported program participation when validation data are available for one program (treatment) but not the other. We estimate average treatment effects using data from the National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS). FoodAPS includes administrative data to validate SNAP participation. Information on local food prices allows us to construct a food expenditure‐based monotone instrumental variable that does not require a typical instrumental variable exclusion restriction. Under relatively weak monotonicity assumptions, we identify that the impact of participating in both programs relative to SNAP alone is strictly positive, suggesting that the programs are nonredundant. This evidence can support improved design and targeting of food programs.

An analysis of the effectiveness of meeting the irrigation water provisions of the Leafy Green Marketing Agreement (LGMA) relative to its costs provides an approach to evaluating the cost-effectiveness of good agricultural practices that uses available data. A case example for lettuce is used to evaluate data requirements and provide a methodological example to determine the cost-effectiveness of the LGMA water quality provision. Both cost and field data on pathogen or indicator bacterial levels are difficult and expensive to obtain prospectively. Therefore, methods to use existing field and experimental data are required. Based on data from current literature and experimental studies, we calculate a cost-efficiency ratio that expresses the reduction in E. coliconcentration per dollar expenditure on testing of irrigation water. With appropriate data, the same type of analysis can be extended to soil amendments and other practices and to evaluation of public benefits of practices used in production. Careful use of existing and experimental data can lead to evaluation of an expanded set of practices.

Consumers' perceptions and evaluations of meat quality attributes such as color and shelf life influence purchasing decisions, and these product attributes can be affected by the type of fresh meat packaging system. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) extends the shelf life of fresh meat and, with the inclusion of carbon monoxide (CO-MAP), achieves significant color stabilization. The objective of this study was to assess whether consumers would accept specific packaging technologies and what value consumers place on ground beef packaged under various atmospheres when their choices involved the attributes of color and shelf life. The study used nonhypothetical consumer choice experiments to determine the premiums that consumers are willing to pay for extended shelf life resulting from MAP and for the ``cherry red'' color in meat resulting from CO-MAP. The experimental design allowed determination of whether consumers would discount foods with MAP or CO-MAP when (i) they are given more detailed information about the technologies and (ii) they have different levels of individual knowledge and media exposure. The empirical analysis was conducted using multinomial logit models. Results indicate that consumers prefer an extension of shelf life as long as the applied technology is known and understood. Consumers had clear preferences for brighter (aerobic and CO) red color and were willing to pay $0.16/lb ($0.35/kg) for each level of change to the preferred color. More information on MAP for extending the shelf life and on CO-MAP for stabilizing color decreased consumers' willingness to pay. An increase in personal knowledge and media exposure influenced acceptance of CO-MAP negatively. The results provide quantitative measures of how packaging affects consumers' acceptance and willingness to pay for products. Such information can benefit food producers and retailers who make decisions about investing in new packaging methods.

AbstractThis study examined older Americans' use of food labels as a tool to moderate dietary risk factors for heart disease. Data from the USDA's Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individual (CSFII) 1994-96 and the Diet and Health Knowledge Survey (DHKS) from 2,846 respondents aged 51 years and older was used. Indices were constructed to measure and correlate dietary intake, label use and understanding, and health status data. Understanding and use of food labels was lower among older age groups, while heart-related health problems increased. Use of food labels and percent energy intake from fat were inversely related (P< 0.01). Older Americans would benefit from education on food label use and interpretation to decrease their dietary risk factors for heart disease.

Seafood is an important food commodity in Spain, the second largest consuming nation of seafood in the world. Today, several changes in demographics, socioeconomic factors, and lifestyle changes have affected demand for seafood products. Double‐hurdle models allow an examination of Spanish household expenditures on these products and explicitly account for the value of women's time. The empirical evidence shows that the set of statistically significant factors in the participation and expenditure equations is not the same for fresh and processed seafood goods. Income and household demographic variables are important determinants of both participation and expenditures on seafood products. In addition, the value of women's time affects expenditures on processed products, which include frozen, cured, and canned seafood goods.

The U.S. pork industry routinely adds antibiotics to rations of weaned pigs both to prevent illness before symptoms emerge and to increase growth rates. The European Union (EU) is in the process of restricting feed use of antibiotics, and the U.S. is currently reviewing the practice. The strategic issue facing U.S. pork producers is whether another food safety dispute with the EU is worthwhile. This paper evaluates the economic impact of such a ban in the U.S. The analysis uses a set of technical assumptions derived from the experience of a similar ban in Sweden and finds such a ban would increase production costs per head between $5.24 and $6.05; net profit would decline $0.79 per head. On the consumer side, the effects of a ban would raise the retail price of pork by 5 cents per pound.

The linear approximate version of the almost ideal demand system (LA‐AIDS) model is estimated using data from the Lithuanian household budget survey (HBS) covering the period from July 1992 to December 1994. Price and real expenditure elasticities for 12 food groups were estimated based on the estimated coefficients of the model. Very little or nothing is known about the demand parameters of Lithuania and other former socialist countries, so the results are of intrinsic interest. Estimated expenditure elasticities were positive and statistically significant for all food groups, while all own‐price elasticities were negative and statistically significant, except for that of eggs which was insignificant. Results suggest that Lithuanian household consumption did respond to price and real income changes during their transition to a market‐oriented economy.

At the 1996 World Food Summit, 186 countries made a commitment to reduce the number of chronically undernourished people by half by 2015. In order to formulate effective policies for reaching this goal, a thorough understanding of the location and causes of food insecurity is needed. This paper provides a broad overview of the current character of food insecurity in developing countries, focusing on two questions: (1) Why are they food insecure? and (2) Why are the food insecure? To answer the latter question data from 58 developing countries with high prevalences of food insecurity are employed to examine the relative importance of two of food insecurity's most basic causes: national food availability and the inability of people to access food due to poverty. Using child malnutrition as a proxy (along with descriptive controls for non‐food determinants of malnutrition), the paper finds little correlation between national food availabilities and food insecurity. The group of countries that exhibit the highest severity of food insecurity are those with high poverty and food (dietary energy) surpluses, consistent with the view that poverty is the most widespread cause of food insecurity in the 1990s. The paper concludes by considering the implications of the analysis for appropriate geographical and policy targeting to improve food security for the greatest numbers of people at the fastest pace, now and into the 21st century.

Spain currently is experiencing rapid cultural and economic changes that influence food markets. In this paper, the selection and purchase of food away from home and at home in Spain are modeled in a two‐stage process using switching regression techniques with explicit accounting for the value of women's time available for household production. The empirical results show that the value of women's time, income, and household demographic variables are important determinants of both participation in the market for and expenditures on food away from home. The paper concludes that high‐income, young families with few children and employed family heads are more likely to consume food away from home and also to spend more than others on food away from home.

Recent regulatory reforms have changed the financial services market. We compare views of older consumers and financial institutions to determine the behavior of the older consumer in this new environment. Results indicate that financial institutions have misconceptions of the views and practices of older consumers. Older consumers stress economic considerations, for example, high interest rates, as principal influences on their savings behavior. Further, the older consumer is not taking advantage of the savings services currently being offered, and although information is available, it is uncertain whether it is being used effectively. Although financial institutions view themselves as the main source of financial information, the older consumer continues to rely on family forfinancial advice. A comprehensive education program for both older consumer and financial institution is recommended to assure that benefits of regulatory reform are distributed to all segments of the population.