OBJECTIVES

: The impact of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program on children's diet quality during critical period up to two years of life is largely unknown primarily due to the selection problem polluting the estimation of treatment effects and data scarcity. This study uses novel data to estimate the impact of WIC on Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010) in children up to 24 months. Using data from a large prospective cohort study on mother-children dyads conducted in Memphis, Shelby county, TN we estimated the impact of WIC on HEI-2010 dietary scores. We address concerns related to non-random selection in WIC via the use of first-difference estimators combined with a rich set of time-varying covariates.

METHODS

: This study addresses endogenity concerns by using a novel dataset which observes exposure-outcome relationship over time first-difference regression models aimed at addressing endogeneity concerns. We further implement permutation tests, and placebo tests to examine the robustness of empirical results.

RESULTS

: We provide empirical evidence to conclude that WIC participation is associated with a statistically significant increase in HEI-2010 total scores of 4.652 points (roughly 0.4 standard deviations). WIC is associated with improved dietary outcomes for seafood and plant proteins, refined grains and decreased sodium intake.

CONCLUSIONS

: Reported results suggest that targeted policy interventions meaningfully improve dietary outcomes during the narrow window of opportunity in childhood development. This research provides critical evidence which might inform policymaking decisions regarding support of WIC at a time when funding for safety-net programs is under threat. Strategies incentivizing WIC enrollment and retention might result in healthier diets and overall improvements in children’s welfare.