Briefly
Jessica Todd is a senior agricultural economist in the Food Economics Division (FED), Food Assistance Branch of the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS). She conducts research on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and child nutrition programs. Her work is published in scholarly journals, ERS reports, and other outlets.
Background
Prior to starting her current role in 2022, Jessica spent nearly 3 years in ERS’s Resource and Rural Economics Division, where she led research on farm households for the Farm Economy Branch. Prior to that work, Jessica was in FED in the Diet, Safety, and Health Economics Branch—where she conducted research on the economics of food choices, diet and health outcomes, and food and nutrition assistance programs. Before joining ERS in 2007, Jessica worked primarily as a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank, studying the impact of conditional cash transfer programs in Latin America. She has also consulted for the World Bank, the Center for Global Development, and the International Food Policy Research Institute.
Selected Publications
Hodges, L., Toossi, S., Todd, J.E., & Ryan-Claytor, C. (2024). The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, infants, and Children (WIC): Background, trends, and economic issues, 2024 edition. (Report No. EIB-267). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
Todd, J. E., Whitt, C., Key N., & Mandalay, O. (2024). An overview of farms operated by socially disadvantaged, women, and limited resource farmers and ranchers in the United States. (Report No. EIB-266). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
Zaki, M. & Todd, J.E. (2023). Price consciousness at the peak of 'impatience’. Journal of Human Resources, 58 (3): 1003–1027
Todd, J.E., Mancino, L., Restrepo, B., Kavanaugh, C., Dicken, C., & Breneman, V.. (2021). Food away from home and caloric intake: The role of restaurant menu labeling laws. Economic Inquiry, 59(1): 53–71.
Todd, J.E., Young J., & Boohaker, J. (2018). The impact of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program policies on asset holdings. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 41(2): 305–328.
