Public health shocks, learning and diet improvement

Yuan Gao, Rigoberto Lopez, Ruili Liao and Xiaoou Liu

Food Policy, 2022, vol. 112, issue C

Abstract: Many governments aim to mitigate health risks by attacking nutritional failures. In this article, we exploit a unique natural experiment, the COVID-19 pandemic as an exogenous public health shock, to estimate the learning effects of intensive health information campaigns on nutrient intake during the pandemic. Using data from nearly-one million food purchases in China, our empirical findings strongly support the learning effect in explaining improvements in nutrient intake in the post-COVID-19 period. We conclude that when public health shocks occur, policy makers can boost relevant learning mechanisms by promoting information and education to improve individuals’ awareness of preventive health behaviors of a more permanent nature, which can lead to health improvements in a society.

Keywords: Health behavior; COVID-19; Nutrition; Diet quality; Learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:112:y:2022:i:c:s0306919222001348

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2022.102365

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