TY - JOUR
T1 - Not just for poor kids
T2 - The impact of universal free school breakfast on meal participation and student outcomes
AU - Leos-Urbel, Jacob
AU - Schwartz, Amy Ellen
AU - Weinstein, Meryle
AU - Corcoran, Sean
PY - 2013/10
Y1 - 2013/10
N2 - This paper examines the impact of the implementation of a universal free school breakfast policy on meals program participation, attendance, and academic achievement. In 2003, New York City made school breakfast free for all students regardless of income, while increasing the price of lunch for those ineligible for meal subsidies. Using a difference-in-difference estimation strategy, we derive plausibly causal estimates of the policy's impact by exploiting within and between group variation in school meal pricing before and after the policy change. Our estimates suggest that the policy resulted in small increases in breakfast participation both for students who experienced a decrease in the price of breakfast and for free-lunch eligible students who experienced no price change. The latter suggests that universal provision may alter behavior through mechanisms other than price, highlighting the potential merits of universal provision over targeted services. We find limited evidence of policy impacts on academic outcomes.
AB - This paper examines the impact of the implementation of a universal free school breakfast policy on meals program participation, attendance, and academic achievement. In 2003, New York City made school breakfast free for all students regardless of income, while increasing the price of lunch for those ineligible for meal subsidies. Using a difference-in-difference estimation strategy, we derive plausibly causal estimates of the policy's impact by exploiting within and between group variation in school meal pricing before and after the policy change. Our estimates suggest that the policy resulted in small increases in breakfast participation both for students who experienced a decrease in the price of breakfast and for free-lunch eligible students who experienced no price change. The latter suggests that universal provision may alter behavior through mechanisms other than price, highlighting the potential merits of universal provision over targeted services. We find limited evidence of policy impacts on academic outcomes.
KW - Child poverty policy
KW - School finance
KW - School meals program
KW - Universal service provision
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U2 - 10.1016/j.econedurev.2013.06.007
DO - 10.1016/j.econedurev.2013.06.007
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84880579284
VL - 36
SP - 88
EP - 107
JO - Economics of Education Review
JF - Economics of Education Review
SN - 0272-7757
ER -