Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/113978 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 9103
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Food insecurity is one of the most, if not the most, significant, nutrition-related public health issue confronted in the US. Unfortunately, we know very little about the determinants of food security except that it is not synonymous with poverty. Many households above the poverty line are food insecure; many below are not. We investigate a lack of financial literacy as a potential salient determinant of household-level food security. In light of the recent financial crisis and the burgeoning literature on financial literacy, we know that inadequate financial skills and practices are a significant problem that spans all socioeconomic groups. Using original survey data collected among food pantry clients in North Texas, we assess the causal effect of financial literacy on food security. Our results indicate a strikingly significant effect, both economically and statistically.
Subjects: 
food security
financial literacy
poverty
JEL: 
I12
I18
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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