Professors Karen Smith Conway, Robert Mohr and Mica Kurtz (former Ph.D. student in economics and current assistant professor of economics at Lycoming College) were selected for the best paper of 2020 in the Economics of Education Review, for their article, "Weekend Feeding ('Backpack') Programs and Student Outcomes".
Congratulations to all!
View article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2020.102040
Abstract
Weekend feeding (“BackPack”) programs that provide food to children have grown dramatically in recent years, yet their effects on educational outcomes have been little investigated. Our study combines administrative student data on test scores and absences in Northwest North Carolina elementary schools with primary data on program participation. School and student program eligibility criteria is used to estimate the intent-to-treat effect within a difference-in-difference-in-difference (DDD) framework. Results suggest a sizable 0.09 standard deviation improvement in reading scores, with a similar but weaker effect for math scores. These effects are strongest for the youngest and lowest performing students.
