Rethinking WIC An Evalution of the Women, Infants, and Children Program

by Besharov, Douglas J.; Germanis, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780844741499
• ISBN10: 0844741493
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-01-01
• Publisher: Aei Press

Summary

This book analyzes the research on the effectiveness of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

Author Biography

Douglas J. Besharov is the Joseph J. and Violet Jacobs Scholar in Social Welfare Studies at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research and a professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs.

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
Christopher DeMuth
PART ONE Rethinking WIC
Introduction	3	(8)
Key Points	5	(6)
Program Benefits	11	(6)
Food Packages	11	(3)
Nutritional and Health Counseling	14	(3)
Program Coverage	17	(9)
Eligibility	17	(2)
Program Participation	19	(2)
Eligibility Creep?	21	(5)
Previous Research	26	(9)
Postpartum and Breastfeeding Mothers	27	(1)
Infants	28	(1)
Children	29	(3)
Pregnant Women	32	(3)
Research Weaknesses	35	(15)
Selection Bias	35	(7)
Simultaneity Bias	42	(3)
Lack of Generalizability	45	(4)
Accounting for Research Weaknesses	49	(1)
Does WIC ``Work''?	50	(12)
Modest Impacts at Best?	50	(5)
The Need for a New General Accounting Office Estimate	55	(3)
The Need to Address Overweight	58	(4)
Programmatic Flexibility	62	(11)
Target WIC Benefits to More Needful Families?	63	(1)
Selectively Intensify WIC Benefits?	64	(1)
Add a Focus on Preventing Overweight?	65	(2)
Serve Children over Age Four?	67	(1)
Increase Directive Counseling?	68	(3)
Try Alternative Service Providers?	71	(2)
Rigorous Evaluation	73	(7)
The Limits of Nonexperimental Studies	73	(2)
Randomized Experiments	75	(5)
Conclusion	80	(9)
Appendix: Attempting to Correct for Selection Bias	81	(8)
PART TWO Commentaries
Addressing the Selection-Bias Problem for Program Targeting and Design	89	(6)
Michael J. Brien
Christopher A. Swann
Does WIC Work?	90	(1)
Birth Outcomes	91	(1)
Child Health	92	(1)
Can WIC Be More Effective?	93	(2)
An Incremental Approach to Testing WIC's Efficacy	95	(6)
Nancy R. Burstein
Theoretical Evidence on the Effects of WIC	95	(2)
Empirical Evidence on the Effects of WIC	97	(2)
Is WIC Working Yet?	99	(2)
A Defense of the Existing Research on WIC	101	(8)
Barbara L. Devaney
What is Selection Bias, and how Does It Affect What We Know about WIC?	102	(3)
What Do We Know about How WIC Affects Infants and Children?	105	(1)
Where Do We Go from Here?	106	(2)
Summary	108	(1)
Enhancing WIC's Effectiveness	109	(20)
Robert Greenstein
What Have Policymakers Understood and Program Proponents Said?	110	(2)
The Research Findings	112	(5)
Other Claims about the WIC Program	117	(4)
Policy Recommendations	121	(8)
Notes	129	(22)
References	151	(12)
Index	163	(8)
About the Authors and the Contributors	171