A difference-in-differences approach to estimate the effect of income-supplementation on food insecurity

作者：Ionescu Ittu Raluca^*; Glymour M Maria; Kaufman Jay S

来源：Preventive Medicine, 2015, 70: 108-116.

DOI：10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.11.017

• Difference-in-differences
• Income supplementation policy
• Food insecurity
• Causal effects

Objective. The Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) is a 2006 Canadian federal policy of income supplementation that provides parents with $100 monthly in Canadian dollars for each child aged <6 years. The study main objective was to estimate the causal effect of UCCB on self-reported food insecurity overall and in vulnerable subgroups.
Method. The Canadian Community Health Survey (2001-2009) was used to conduct a difference-indifferences (DID) regression analysis for the effect of the UCCB on self-reported food insecurity. Respondents were ages >= 12 in families with at least one child aged <6 years (UCCB-eligible, n = 22,737) or a child aged 6-11 but no child <6 years (control group, n = 17,664).
Results. Over the study period 16.3% of respondents experienced some level of food insecurity. Overall, UCCB reduced the proportion of respondents reporting food insecurity by 2.4% (95% CI: -4.0%, -0.9%). There was a significantly stronger impact on food insecurity for respondents from households with yearly income below the population median (-4.3%, 95% CI:-7.2%,-1.4%) and respondents from single parent families (-5.4%, 95% CI: -10.3%, -0.6%).
Conclusion. We found that a relatively small monthly income supplementation results in a significant reduction in food insecurity at the population level, with larger effects in vulnerable groups.

• 出版日期2015-1
• 单位McGill