Briefly
Eliana Zeballos is a Research Agricultural Economist within the Food Markets Branch of the Food Economics Division at USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS). Her research focuses on two primary areas: (1) Analyzing food expenditures and food spending behavior; and (2) examining the relationship between time allocation and food choices. Eliana is the steward for USDA, ERS’ Food Expenditure Series, which is a comprehensive data set that measures the U.S. food system at the national and State levels, quantifying the value of food acquired by type of product, outlet, and purchaser. Additionally, she co-manages the Eating and Health Module of the American Time Use Survey, which collects data on secondary eating (that is eating while doing another activity considered primary by the respondent), height and weight, physical activity, self-assessed diet quality and health status, USDA food assistance program participation, income, grocery shopping, and meal preparation.
Background
Eliana joined USDA, ERS in September 2016 upon completion of her Ph.D. at the University of California, Davis. In her dissertation, Eliana studied how interpersonal comparisons and positional concerns affect productivity.
Education
Eliana holds a Ph.D. in agricultural and resource economics from the University of California, Davis. She has an M.S. in international and development economics from the University of San Francisco and a B.A. in economics from Universidad Privada Boliviana.
Selected Publications
Zeballos E., Sinclair, W., & Marchesi, K. (2024). The impact of COVID-19 vaccination on food spending behavior in the United States. Medical Research Archives, 12(2).
Restrepo, B.J., & Zeballos, E. (2023). Working from home and emotional well-being during major daily activities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(4), 3616.
Restrepo, B.J.,& Zeballos, E. (2022). Work from home and daily time allocations: evidence from the coronavirus pandemic. Review of Economics of the Household, 20, 735–758.
Zeballos, E., & Chelius, C. (2021). The effects of grazing on daily caloric intake and dietary quality. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 18, 163.
Zeballos, E., & Dong, X. (2021). The effect of COVID-19 on food sales. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 44(4), 2131–2144.
