2014 Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) Conference

The Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) Program encourages new and innovative research on food and nutrition assistance issues and broadens the participation of social science scholars in this important research area. The annual conference is a forum for grant recipients and attendees to discuss results of recently funded grants on topics including food assistance program participation, food insecurity among vulnerable populations, and community influence on food assistance and dietary choices. RIDGE is administered in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Mississippi State University in cooperation with Purdue University.

Location and date:

Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU)
1307 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC
October 9, 2014

2014 Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) Conference

8:15 – 8:45: Registration and Refreshments

8:45 – 8:55: Opening remarks

• Alex Majchrowicz, Director, RIDGE Program, ERS
• Speaker, ERS/FED, TBD

Morning session

8:55 – 9:00: Comments from the RIDGE Center for Targeted Studies at the Southern Rural Development Center, Mississippi State University, in cooperation with Purdue University

• Lionel J. “Bo” Beaulieu, Director

9:00 - 9:30: Health, Economic Instability and Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

• Jinhee Kim, University of Maryland
• Swam Chatterjee, University of Georgia
• Yunhee Chang, University of Mississippi

9:30 – 10:00: New Versus Return Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program During the Great Recession

• Lloyd D. Grieger, Yale University

10:00 – 10:15: Session break

10:15 – 10:20: Comments from the RIDGE Center for National Food and Nutrition Research at the Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Judi Bartfeld, Director

10:20 – 10:50: Economic Policy Simulation: Incentivizing Healthy Eating through Changes in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Policies

• Sanjay Basu, Stanford University

10:50 – 11:20: The Dynamics of Multiple Program Use and Food Security

• Christopher Swann, University of North Carolina–Greensboro

11:20 – 11:50: The Summer Food Service Program and Food Insecurity in Low-Income Households with Children: Evidence from California

• Daniel Miller, Boston University

11:50 – 1:15: Lunch on your own

Afternoon session

1:15 – 1:45: The National School Lunch Program: Seasonal Difference in Program Participation and Its Impacts on Food Insufficiency and Food Insecurity

• Jin Huang, Saint Louis University

1:45 – 2:15: A Behavioral Economics Experiment on the Effect of Incentives on Food Choice in the National School Lunch Program

• Anya Samak, University of Wisconsin–Madison

2:15 – 2:45: Rural Versus Urban Texas WIC Children Food Choices and Intakes Before and After Changes in the Food Benefits

• Ariun Ishdorj, Texas A&M University

2:45 – 3:00: Session break

3:00 – 3:30: Food Prices, Time Values, and Time Spent on Food Shopping and Meal Preparation: Rural Urban Disparities

• Ning Zhang, University of Massachusetts

3:30 - 4:00: The Effects of Group Prenatal Care on Food Insecurity

• Emily Heberlein, University of South Carolina

4:00 – 4:30: Access to Short-term Credit and Consumption Smoothing Within the Pay Cycle

• Mary Zaki, Northwestern University

4:30 – 4:45: Closing remarks and adjournment

• David Smallwood, Branch Chief, Food Assistance Branch, ERS