@article{Prell:256715,
      recid = {256715},
      author = {Prell, Mark   and Smallwood, David},
      title = {Comparing Alternative Economic Mechanisms To Increase  Fruit and Vegetable Purchases},
      address = {2017-04-05},
      number = {1476-2017-585},
      series = {Economic Information Bulletin Number 170},
      pages = {33},
      year = {2017},
      abstract = {Participants in USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance  Program (SNAP) typically consume less than the amounts of  fruits and vegetables (FVs) recommended by the Dietary  Guidelines for Americans. The study considers three  economic mechanisms to incentivize purchases of FVs: a  bonus for FV spending; a rebate for FV spending; and a Cash  Value Voucher (CVV) redeemable for FVs up to a fixed dollar  amount. This USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) report  uses neoclassical economics to provide a unifying  conceptual framework for explaining the effects of these  mechanisms, using simplified abstract models. In principle,  all three mechanisms can increase FV purchases for the  average SNAP consumer. Distributional effects matter in  addition to average effects; SNAP consumers who purchase no  FVs (in a typical month) can be a sizable subgroup that is  important for analysis. For that subgroup, implementing a  CVV tends to increase purchases by more than other  mechanisms. If the nonpurchasing subgroup is a large  proportion of SNAP households, a CVV also tends to be the  mechanism that increases average FV purchases the most. If  the subgroup is relatively small, a rebate or bonus may  promote average FV purchases the most.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/256715},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.256715},
}