Currently, 68.3% of the milk available in schools is flavored, with chocolate being the most popular (61.6% of all milk). If chocolate milk is removed from a school cafeteria, what will happen to overall milk selection and consumption? Methods: In a before-after study in 11 Oregon elementary...

Background: Concession stands at high school events are exempt from USDA regulations. They generally sell unhealthy foods and fear change will affect profits. Methods: Concession stand sales for two seasons of high school football games in Muscatine, Iowa were compared. In between seasons, two...

A general theory of cross-subsidization due to infra-marginal support is developed. Two sources of output distortion are identified: exit deterrence and extra-marginal output. Some firms would not be in business without the subsidy. Cost savings due to declining average costs are always greater...

2A biofuel blend mandate may increase or decrease consumer fuel prices with endogenous oil prices, depending on relative supply elasticities. Biofuel tax credits always reduce fuel prices. Tax credits result in lower fuel prices than under a mandate for the same level of biofuel production. If...

A framework is developed to analyze the effects of a biofuel consumer tax exemption and the interaction effects with a price contingent farm subsidy. Ethanol prices rise above the gasoline price by the amount of the tax credit. Corn farmers gain directly while gasoline consumers only gain from...

Using a unique dataset collected among farmers in India’s semi-arid tropics, this paper documents the surprising prevalence of risk-taking behavior in the face of high-stakes gambles. The evidence suggests that this apparently anomalous behavior is due to a combination of credit constraints...

In this paper, we explore the relationship between dietary diversity and income in pastoralist households in East Africa. Previous estimates of income elasticities of nutrient demand have ranged from zero to unity. However, these estimates are always based on the total income. One possible...

Traditional economic theories assume that individuals are endowed with certain risk preferences that are unaltered by experiences. However, recent evidence indicates that macroeconomic shocks do have an effect on an individual's willingness to take financial risks. In the context of investment...

We proffer a method to assess the adequacy of expected utility theory (EUT) in empirical studies involving discrete and continuous choices. The method calibrates a utility function to revealed choices and rejects EUT for absurd degrees of implied concavity over the wealth at risk. We find EUT...

The efficacy of alternative biofuel policies in achieving energy, environmental and agricultural policy goals is assessed using economic cost-benefit analysis. Government mandates are superior to consumption subsidies, especially with suboptimal fuel taxes and the higher costs involved with...