Christine K. Ranney

The Monthly Food Stamp Cycle: Shooping Frequency and Food Intake Decisions in an Endogenous Switching Regression Framework

Mean food spending by food stamp households peaks sharply in the first three days after benefits are received. For those who conduct major grocery shopping trips only once per month (42% of all food stamp households), mean food energy intake drops significantly by the fourth week of the month. For the remaining households, intake remains steady over the course of the month. These patterns motivate an empirical model that simultaneously accounts for the shopping frequency and food intake decisions over time. Results have implications for policies that may affect the frequency of grocery shopping by food stamp households. Copyright 2000, Oxford University Press.

The Effect of Income and Food Programs on Dietary Quality: A Seemingly Unrelated Regression Analysis with Error Components

This article employs new Food Guide Pyramid servings data to measure how food intake is affected by income and two food programs. The analysis uses a maximum likelihood estimator that combines the seemingly unrelated regression and one-way error component models, to account for two types of intrahousehold correlations. Participation in the Food Stamp Program is associated with higher intake of meats, added sugars, and total fats. Participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children is associated with lower intake of added sugars. Copyright 1999, Oxford University Press.

Consistent Estimation of Censored Demand Systems Using Panel Data

We derive a joint continuous/censored commodity demand system for panel data applications. Unobserved heterogeneity is controlled for using a correlated random effects specification and a generalized method of moments framework used to estimate the model. While relatively small differences in elasticity estimates are found between a flexible random effects specification and one that restricts the random effect coefficient to be time invariant, larger differences are observed when comparing the flexible model to a pooled cross-sectional estimator. The results suggest the limited ability of such estimators to control for preference heterogeneity and unit-value endogeneity leads to parameter bias.

The gap between food intakes and the pyramid recommendations: Measurement and food system ramifications

Abstract This paper measures the current gap in food consumption between dietary guidelines and estimated food intakes. Information on the adherence of the US diet to the guidelines comes from two sources: the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) and the USDAs annual Food Supply Data (FSD) Series. We review previous studies and supplement these with our own analysis of the 1994 CSFII and Food Supply data with Food Guide Pyramid serving recommendations. These analyses show that the greatest relative gaps occur in the fruit and dairy groups, and added sugars; smaller gaps exist for the other food groups. We also consider how future demographic changes will influence the size of these gaps. If current dietary patterns are maintained in each category of age, sex, and ethnicity, then we project substantial future increases in the gap at the aggregate food supply level for most food groups. The magnitude of the gap between current intakes and the Pyramid recommendations suggests the need for continued increases in agricultural productivity, higher resource use, and greater levels of international trade if the gap is to be closed.