Food Insecurity, Food Storage, and Obesity

Although individuals with poor food security might be expected to have reduced food intake, and therefore a lower likelihood of being overweight, some empirical evidence has indicated that overweight status is actually more prevalent among the food insecure. As obesity is associated with excessive energy intake, and hunger reflects an inadequate food supply, such observations would appear to be paradoxical. We develop an economic model that shows that this apparently paradoxical result is consistent with rational behavior regarding food availability risk and the effectiveness of food storage options. The amount of internal storage increases as the variance of food productivity in the second period increases, which is consistent with the empirical observation of a positive relationship between food insecurity and the incidence of overweight.Food Security and Poverty,

New Directions in Consumer Behaviour Research

Consumer behaviour remains an evolving and fascinating area of research. In this article we highlight some of the current work by Canadian researchers in the areas of enhancing both the quality and application of consumer analysis. The work described below touches upon areas in which not just economic theory and methods, but also the policy process can be improved. The working papers cited here were all presented as part of the principal paper session, “What’s Going on in Consumer Behaviour?†held at the joint meeting of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society and the Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association in Halifax, Nova Scotia in June 2004.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

The Last Place in the World - Copyright Protection for Computer Software in New Zealand

Computer technology - whether it is hardware, software or the internet - is the headache that just won't go away for anyone grappling with the law of intellectual property. With the Copyright Act 1994, the New Zealand legislature attempted to meet some of the challenges but it largely avoided the issue, passing the headache onto the judiciary should any tricky issues arise. One such issue is copyright protection for computer programs. The Copyright Act 1994 makes it clear that computer programs are protected as a literary work but how far does that protection extend (or how far do we carry the fiction that a computer program is literary work)? This article attempts to second guess what level of protection our courts might provide. It argues that New Zealand has shown a willingness to protect functional items and would protect the "look and feel" of a program, providing a level of protection which courts in the United States have considered undesirable

Managed Haying and Grazing of CRP

Agricultural and Food Policy,

HEALTH TRADEOFFS IN PESTICIDE REGULATION

EPA has the authority to ban pesticides to reduce health risks to consumers from food residues. Such bans influence the price of fruits and vegetables, and the resulting consumption shifts impact consumer health. We develop a framework to compare the direct and indirect health effects of pesticide regulation, and investigate the distribution of these effects across social groups. Under some plausible scenarios, the increased incidence of disease from reduced fruit and vegetable consumption outweigh the direct benefits of regulation. Furthermore, high income consumers receive the greatest direct health benefit from pesticide cancellations, whereas low and medium income consumers are most hurt by the resulting dietary changes.Crop Production/Industries, Health Economics and Policy,

FAT TAXES AND THIN SUBSIDIES: PRICES, DIET, AND HEALTH OUTCOMES

"Fat taxes" have been proposed as a way of addressing food-related health concerns. In this paper, we investigate the possible effects of "thin subsidies," consumption subsidies for healthier foods. Empirical simulations, based on data from the Continuing Study of Food Intake by Individuals, are used to calculate the potential health benefits of subsidies on certain classes of fruits and vegetables. Estimates of the cost per statistical life saved through such subsidies compare favorably with existing U.S. government programs.Health Economics and Policy,

Invasive Species Management: Importers, Border Enforcement, and Risk

Invasive species are a negative externality associated with imported goods. Policies aimed at excluding pests associated with imports include pre-shipment treatment requirements, varied inspection schemes, treatment at the border, penalties, and import bans or restrictions. Existing policies are based on the reasoning that increased enforcement effort will result in higher detection levels, or more specifically, that increased inspection will result in a higher number of interceptions and in turn, higher compliance. In addition to a deterrence effect, however, under which importers respond to increased enforcement with increased due care with respect to pest control, importers may respond in ways that regulators do not intend. For example, importers may choose to not bring goods into the country, may ship a reduced amount, or may switch ports-of-entry. Moreover, different types of firms are likely to respond to enforcement in different ways. In this paper, we present a framework to analyze invasive species border enforcement given heterogeneous importers and ports. We develop a theoretical model of firm response to border enforcement, analyze both the intended and unintended effects of this enforcement for different types of firms, and evaluate the tradeoffs associated with location. Firms not only consider the changes in the levels of enforcement and other conditions at a single port, they consider the cost and benefit tradeoffs associated with location e.g., differences in inspection intensity or port-entry fees versus distance to port-of-entry and final market across ports and may switch ports. The result is that increased inspection intensity may not result the overall damages from invasive species introductions.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Academic Interventions for Students with ASD

Following the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act in 2004 and its emphasis on inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education setting, students with Autism Spectrum Disorder are increasingly taught in general education classrooms (Leblanc, Richardson, & Burns, 2009; Simpson, Boer-Ott, & Smith-Myles, 2003). Data from the Annual Report to Congress on Implementation of IDEA (U.S. Department of Education, 2010) indicated that almost 90% of students with autism in public schools in the United States receive their education in general education classrooms for some part of the school day. Yet, both general education and special education resource teachers report feeling inadequate to meet the needs of students with ASD in an inclusive environment (Dimitriosa & Pangiota, 2005; Naylor, 2002). Although teachers tend to support the idea of inclusion, a study by Scruggs and Mastropieri (1996) found that almost one third of general education teachers believed they did not possess the necessary skills and training to be successful in educating students with special needs. In fact, a number of studies have revealed the lack of training required to address the needs of students with disabilities in teacher preparation programs for general education teachers (Ivey & Reinke, 2002; Leblanc, Richardson, & Burns, 2009; Stainback & Stainback, 1984). Especially in regards to students with ASD, research has emphasized the need for adequate preparation for all preservice teachers (Jennett, Harris, & Mesibov, 2003). The purpose of this paper is to call attention to the need for systematic research on academic interventions for students diagnosed with ASD