Spatial and Temporal Variation in the Value of the Women, Infants, and Children Program's Fruit and Vegetable Voucher
研究了美国WIC计划中水果蔬菜代金券的购买力因地区和时间不同而差异显著，高成本地区参与者可购买的水果蔬菜远少于低成本地区，且自2009年以来代金券价值普遍下降。
Abstract Increasing the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables among children and low‐income households is a public health policy priority in the United States. We investigate temporal and spatial price patterns for fresh fruits and vegetables to evaluate the extent to which the value of the fruit and vegetable Cash‐Value‐Voucher (CVV) of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) may be affected by unequal price levels and changes in price levels across the United States. Our findings show that price differences over space and time have real and consequential impacts on the purchasing power of the CVV. A WIC Program participant in the highest‐cost Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) can buy significantly fewer fruits and vegetables than a participant who receives the same benefit in the lowest‐cost MSA. Further, we find that the value of the CVV has substantially declined across all MSAs since 2009. We discuss the nutritional implications of the variation in the value of the CVV and evaluate potential mechanisms that could be implemented to maintain equal CVV benefits across time and space.