The impact of WIC participation on tobacco use and alcohol consumption

M. Taha Kasim and Benjamin Ukert

Contemporary Economic Policy, 2021, vol. 39, issue 3, 608-625

Abstract: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program provides food coupons and health benefits to foster in utero and postpartum development of the child. However, due to these benefits, households might reallocate income from food and healthcare services toward other goods. Utilizing data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, this article investigates the effects of participation in the WIC program on cigarette and alcohol consumption. Our results indicate that the program has no effect on prenatal smoking but increases postpartum cigarette consumption per day by 6%. WIC also has preventive benefits as it decreases prenatal alcohol consumption on the extensive and intensive margins.

Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1111/coep.12525

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:coecpo:v:39:y:2021:i:3:p:608-625

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://ordering.onl ... 5-7287&ref=1465-7287

Access Statistics for this article

Contemporary Economic Policy is currently edited by Brad R. Humphreys

More articles in Contemporary Economic Policy from Western Economic Association International Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().