Getting a healthy start: The effectiveness of targeted benefits for improving dietary choices

Rachel Griffith, Stephanie von Hinke and Sarah Smith

Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers from HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York

Abstract: There is growing policy concern with encouraging better dietary choices. We show that a nationally-implemented voucher policy - the UK Healthy Start Scheme - increased spending on fruit and vegetables by 15 percent. However, the effects were heterogeneous: only households that previously spent less than the value of the voucher increased spending; the voucher was equivalent to a cash benefit for households already spending more than this value. These responses are in line with standard economic predictions. Although aspects of the policy might have been expected to stimulate a wider behavioural response, there is no evidence for this.

Keywords: dietary choices; targeted benefits; healthy start scheme (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D12 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea
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Journal Article: Getting a healthy start: The effectiveness of targeted benefits for improving dietary choices (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:yor:hectdg:15/10

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