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Abstract
This dissertation consists of three studies that focus on consumer behavior in food and health economics. I explore how individual and household responds to price and income changes.
In Chapter 1, I leverage the sharp drop in unemployment insurance (UI) benefits following the expiration of the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program to estimate the consumption smoothing effect of UI. I find that the consumption effect of UI is countercyclical, greater when economic conditions are weak. The UI effect is also heterogeneous over respondents differentiated by race and ethnicity, income, homeownership, presence of children, state unemployment rate, and state UI generosity. The estimated effect of UI on self-assessed food sufficiency and confidence about future food sufficiency is largely consistent with the food spending results.
In Chapter 2, I examine the causal relationship between unemployment and health. I take advantage of a spike in unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment and exogenous economic shock as instrumental variables to estimate the causal effect of job loss on self-reported general and mental health in the United States. While the mechanisms of health effects of unemployment remain uncertain, we argue that being unemployed increases the likelihood of having poor general and mental health. I argue that these effects are not entirely attributable to the decline in income associated with job loss, and psychological factors may be at play.
In Chapter 3, I estimate consumer demand for food Classified by the Thrifty Food Plan categories and the evolution of consumer preferences for nutritional quality using the Exact Affine Stone Index demand system. I show internet search intensity has a key role in shaping food preferences and hence the healthfulness of food purchases. I also find a strong link between increased household expenditure, nutritional information, and food choices.
In Chapter 1, I leverage the sharp drop in unemployment insurance (UI) benefits following the expiration of the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program to estimate the consumption smoothing effect of UI. I find that the consumption effect of UI is countercyclical, greater when economic conditions are weak. The UI effect is also heterogeneous over respondents differentiated by race and ethnicity, income, homeownership, presence of children, state unemployment rate, and state UI generosity. The estimated effect of UI on self-assessed food sufficiency and confidence about future food sufficiency is largely consistent with the food spending results.
In Chapter 2, I examine the causal relationship between unemployment and health. I take advantage of a spike in unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment and exogenous economic shock as instrumental variables to estimate the causal effect of job loss on self-reported general and mental health in the United States. While the mechanisms of health effects of unemployment remain uncertain, we argue that being unemployed increases the likelihood of having poor general and mental health. I argue that these effects are not entirely attributable to the decline in income associated with job loss, and psychological factors may be at play.
In Chapter 3, I estimate consumer demand for food Classified by the Thrifty Food Plan categories and the evolution of consumer preferences for nutritional quality using the Exact Affine Stone Index demand system. I show internet search intensity has a key role in shaping food preferences and hence the healthfulness of food purchases. I also find a strong link between increased household expenditure, nutritional information, and food choices.