F or the last 9 years, the U.S. Postal Service's breast cancer stamp has come to the rescue of breast cancer researchers in need of funding. Now a new program introduced by the National Cancer Institute narrows the focus of the research funded by the stamp but asks bigger questions. The proceeds from the stamp are now funneled into the breast cancer premalig-nancy program, which funds research ...

Quasi-hyperbolic discounting predicts impatience over short-run tradeoffs. I present a direct non-laboratory test of this implication using data on the nutritional intake of food stamp recipients. Caloric intake declines by 10 to 15 percent over the food stamp month, implying a significant preference for immediate consumption. These findings constitute a rejection of the permanent income hypoth...

P roviding assistance to the poor through in-kind transfers, such as vouchers for food and housing, garners more political support than providing assistance in cash. Supporters of such policies believe that providing voucher payments for certain goods (such as groceries) will cause recipients to purchase more of the goods being subsidized, and that recipients will not be able to use public assi...

In this paper we examine the relationship between the timing of food stamp receipt and consumption patterns. We combine data on state distribution dates with scanner data on a panel of households. Consistent with previous work we find that purchases of a variety of goods are higher on receipt days. Additionally, we find that when receipt days are more likely to be on weekends, total monthly con...

Hispanics are a rapidly growing population in Massachusetts, but little is known about the health, nutrition, and economic situation of the elder segment of these groups. In this report, we examine factors associated with poverty and the use of food assistance programs, using data from an NIA-funded project on Hispanic elders in Massachusetts. Poverty is shown to be a major problem with differe...

background: food aid programs are strategies that aim to improve nutritional status and to tackle food insecurity. this study aimed to evaluate the effect of a national food supplementary program for children on households’ food security. methods: the study sample included 359 mothers of children aged 6–72 months under the coverage of the program in two provinces of iran. demographic and socioe...