Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pjpqr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-21T07:12:56.441Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

National, Regional, and State-Level Estimates of Returns to Scale in the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2015

Ranju Baral ,
George C. Davis  and
Wen You
Ranju Baral
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia
George C. Davis
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, and Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia
Wen You
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The effectiveness of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program in achieving its goals at the national, regional, and state level is unknown. Using US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data from all states and territories for the years 2000-2006, the impact of program and participant characteristics and returns to scale on the three outcome indicators used by the USDA are estimated. Program and participant characteristics do not seem to be as important as the amount of money spent on the program. Generally speaking, there are constant and increasing returns to scale for two of the three federal outcome indices for most states but not all.

Keywords

EFNEPevaluationprogram effectivenessreturns to scale112118138
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , May 2013 , pp. 203 - 216
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anliker, J., Willis, W., and Montgomery, S.. “The Development and Testing of the Behavior Checklist Questions for the EFNEP Evaluation/Reporting System.” Internet site: www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/food/efnep/ers/documentation/checklist-development.pdf (Accessed August 12, 2011).Google Scholar
Arnold, C.G., and Sobal, J.. “Food Practices and Nutrition Knowledge after Graduation from the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP).” The Journal of Nutrition 32(2000):130–38.Google Scholar
Contento, LR., Randell, J.S., and Basch, CE.. “Review and Analysis of Evaluation Measures Used in Nutrition Education Intervention Research.” Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 34(2002):2–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dickin, K.L., Dollahite, J.S., and Habicht, J.P.. “Nutrition Behavior Change among EFNEP Participants Is Higher at Sites That Are Well Managed and Whose Front-Line Educators Value the Program.” The Journal of Nutrition 135(2005):2199–205.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dollahite, J.S., Kenkei, D., and Thompson, CS.. “An Economic Evaluation of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program.” Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 40(2008):134–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dollahite, J.S., and Scott-Pierce, M.. “Outcomes of Individuals vs. Group Instruction in EFNEP.” Journal of Extension 41(2003). Internet site: www.joe.org/joe/2003april/a4.php (Accessed August 11, 2011).Google Scholar
General Accounting Office (GAO). Nutrition Education: USDA Provides Services through Multiple Programs, but Stronger Linkages among Efforts are Needed. Washington, DC: United States General Accounting Office, 2004.Google Scholar
Gunn, J.B., Klebanov, P.K., and Duncan, G.J.. “Ethnic Differences in Children's Intelligence Test Scores: Role of Economic Deprivation, Home Environment, and Maternal Characteristics.” Child Development 67(1996):396–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joy, A.B., Pradhan, V., and Goldman, G.. “Cost-Benefit Analysis Conducted for Nutrition Education in California.” California Agriculture 60(2006):185–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kmenta, J.Elements of Econometrics. 2nd ed. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 1997.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kristal, A.R., Abrams, B.F., Thornquist, M.D., Disogra, L., Croyle, R.T., Shattuck, A.L., and Henry, H.J.. “Development and Validation of a Food Use Checklist for Evaluation of Community Nutrition Interventions.” American Journal of Public Health 80(1990):1318–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MacCallum, CR., Zhang, S., Preacher, K.J., and Rucker, D.D.. “On the Practice of Dichotomization of Quantitative Variables.” Psychological Methods 7(2002):19–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marmot, M., and Wadsworth, M., eds. Social Determinants of Health. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1999.Google Scholar
McCloskey, D.N. “The Loss Function Has Been Mislaid: The Rhetoric of Significance Tests.” The American Economic Review 75(1985):201–205.Google Scholar
Murphy, A.P., Kaiser, L.L., Townsend, M.S., and Allen, L.H.. “Evaluation of Validity of Items for a Food Behavior Checklist.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association 101(2001):751–61.Google ScholarPubMed
Pollard, CM., Miller, R.Woodman R., Meng, and Binns, C.. “Changes in Knowledge, Beliefs, and Behaviors Related to Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Western Australian Adults from 1995 to 2004.” American Journal of Public Health 99(2009):355–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rajgopal, R., Cox, R.H., Lambur, M., and Lewis, E.C.. “Cost-Benefit Analysis Indicates the Positive Economic Benefits of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program Related to Chronic Disease Prevention.” Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 34(2002):26–37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rumberger, R.W., and Palardy, G.J.. “Test Scores, Dropout Rates, and Transfer Rates as Alternative Indicators of High School Performance.” American Educational Research Journal 42(2005):3–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schuster, E., Zimmerman, Z.L., Engle, M., Smiley, J., Syversen, E., and Murray, J.. “Investing in Oregon's Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP): Documenting Costs and Benefits.” Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 35(2003):200–206.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shephard, R.W.Indirect Production Functions. Meisenheim, Germany: Anton Hain Publisher, 1974.Google Scholar
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program. Internet site: www.nifa.usda.gov/nea/food/efnep/efnep.html (Accessed August 10, 2009a).Google Scholar
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). NIFA Budget Information. Archived Extension Activities. Internet site: www.csrees.usda.gov/about/offices/budget.html (Accessed August 11, 2009b).Google Scholar
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. Nutrition Education Evaluation and Reporting System. Internet site: www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/food/efnep/neers5/neers5.html (Accessed August 11, 2009c).Google Scholar
Wooldridge, J.M.Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2002.Google Scholar