Effects of Participation in the WIC Food Assistance Program on Children’s Health and Development: Evidence from NLSY Children

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of maternal participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) on birth weight, motor and social skills, and temperament for a national sample of children born between 1990 and 1996 to women participating in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Sibling fixed effect models are used to account for persistent differences in difficult to measure characteristics of mothers that affect participation in the program. Results indicate that prenatal WIC participation has positive effects on infant birth weight. Fixed effect, but not OLS, estimates suggest that prenatal WIC participation is associated with more positive child temperament.