Dollar Stores, Food Environments, and Birth Outcomes in the United States (JMP) with Pinka Chatterji and Chun-Yu Ho [Paper]
Abstract: Prior research has found that birth outcomes are affected by neighborhood food access (Lhila, 2011; Powell & Bao, 2009; Kinsey et al., 2023). However, these studies focused on small geographical areas or general measures of the food environment, including grocery stores and supermarkets, which fail to capture the effect of fast-growing specialty or discount stores, such as dollar stores, on birth outcomes. We study whether the expansion of dollar stores affects infant birth outcomes in the United States. Combining 2005–2021 birth certificate data from the National Vital Statistics System with county‑aggregated store counts from the National Neighborhood Data Archive, we estimate two‑way fixed‑effects models linking dollar‑store density to birth outcomes among singleton births to single mothers with a high‑school degree or less. An additional dollar store per 1,000 residents increases the average birth weight by approximately 37 grams and raises the probability of high birth weight by about 1.2 percentage points. Evidence suggests maternal gestational diabetes as a potential mechanism, alongside shifts in the local food environment indicative of reduced access to healthy food options. These findings highlight that retail market structure can shape early-life health and that policies emphasizing physical food access alone may neglect important dimensions of nutritional quality.
State EITC Expansions, Children’s health care Utilization, and the role of Social Protection Programs [Paper]
Abstract: The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is one of the largest anti-poverty policies in the United States, designed to reduce financial constraints faced by low-income working families. While prior research has documented positive effects of the EITC on children’s health outcomes, relatively little is known about its impact on healthcare utilization or the mechanisms through which these effects occur. This paper examines the effect of state-level EITC expansions on children’s healthcare access and utilization using data from the 2016–2023 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). Employing a TWFE difference-in-differences framework with continuous treatment intensity, I focus on families where the highest parental education is a high school degree. I find that a $1,000 increase in state EITC benefits raises the probability of a doctor visit by 1.4 percentage points and increases preventive medical and ER visits by 0.7 and 1.7percentage points, respectively, with significant effects being observed for older Hispanic children. Further analysis identifies ease of access and usual source of care as mechanisms. EITC expansions improve ease of access and increase the likelihood that children have a usual source of care when sick. Importantly, the effects are stronger when accounting for participation in other social protection programs such as SNAP, WIC, school lunch programs, and Medicaid/CHIP. These results provide new evidence that state EITC expansions improve children’s healthcare utilization and suggest that complementarities with other safety-net programs amplify these effects, with implications for ongoing state-level policy debates.
Hirvonen, K., Wolle, A., Laillou, A., Vinci, V., Chitekwe, S., & Baye, K. (2024). Child growth faltering dynamics in food insecure districts in rural Ethiopia. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 20, e13262. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13262
Hirvonen, K., Wolle, A., Laillou, A., Vinci, V., Chitekwe, S., & Baye, K. (2024). Understanding delays in the introduction of complementary foods in rural Ethiopia. Maternal & child nutrition, 20, e13247. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13247
Abate, Gashaw T., Kaleab Baye, Alan de Brauw, Kalle Hirvonen, and Wolle A. (2023). Video‐based behavioral change communication to change consumption patterns: Experimental evidence from urban Ethiopia. Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association2: 164–180. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaa2.51
Abate, G. T., De Brauw, A., Hirvonen, K., & Wolle, A. (2023). Measuring consumption over the phone: Evidence from a survey experiment in urban Ethiopia.* Journal of Development Economics, 161, 103026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2022.103026
*AAEA Africa Section's best publication for 2023
Abate, G. T., De Brauw, A., Gibson, J., Hirvonen, K., & Wolle, A. (2022). Telescoping Error in Recalled Food Consumption: Evidence from a Survey Experiment in Ethiopia, The World Bank Economic Review, Volume 36, Issue 4, Pages 889 - 908. https://doi.org/10.1093/wber/lhac015
Birhane, Guush; Abate, Gashaw Taddese; and Wolle, Abdulazize, (2022). Agricultural Intensification in Ethiopia: Patters, Trends, and Welfare Impacts. IFPRI Discussion Paper #02150. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
Birhane, Guush et al. (2020) Evaluation of the nutrition-sensitive features of the fourth phase of Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Programme. ESSP Working Paper 140. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Wolle, A., Hirvonen, K., de Brauw, A., Baye, K. & Abate, G. T. (2020). Household food consumption patterns in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Working Paper #139. Ethiopia Strategy Support Program, International Food Policy Research Institute.
Hirvonen K, and Wolle A. Consumption, production, market access and affordability of nutritious foods in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Alive & Thrive and International Food Policy Research Institute, 2019. https://www.aliveandthrive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Afar-Nutrition-Sensitive-Agriculture-full-report.pdf
Hirvonen K, and Wolle A. Consumption, production, market access and affordability of nutritious foods in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Alive & Thrive and International Food Policy Research Institute, 2019. https://www.aliveandthrive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Amhara-Nutrition-Sensitive-Agriculture-full-report.pdf
Hirvonen, K., Wolle, A., & Minten, B. (2018). Affordability of fruits and vegetables in Ethiopia. Research Note #70. Ethiopia Strategy Support Program, International Food Policy Research Institute.
Smoke-Free Laws, E-Cigarettes, and Health at Birth
Agricultural intensification, Productivity, and Household Welfare: Evidence from panel data in Ethiopia (with Gashaw T. Abate, Guush Birhane)
Behavioral Change Intervention and Household Food Demand Structure