Rational addiction models have long been pivotal in understanding addictive behavior, yet empirical investigations often overlook the complexities inherent in household-level consumption dynamics. Leveraging comprehensive scanner data from the Circana consumer network dataset and supplementary health data from the Medprofiler survey, this study provides a household-level analysis of rational addiction to ultra-processed food products and its implications for health outcomes. Reed introduces a novel individual coefficients strategy for estimating rational addiction models which assess evidence of rational addiction in consumption patterns at the individual household level. His findings reveal significant heterogeneity of rational addiction across various food products and households, with implications for public health initiatives. Furthermore, he explores the correlation between addictive behavior and health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and mental health disorders. By adopting a micro-scale perspective, his study offers insights into the effectiveness of policy interventions aimed at curbing addictive consumption and improving public health outcomes. Overall, this paper contributes to the literature on rational addiction by offering empirically robust analysis and practical insights for informing policy interventions in the realm of public health economics.
Bio:
Josh Reed is a Ph.D. Candidate in Energy, Environment, and Food Economics at Penn State University in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education. His research focuses on consumer demand for food in the context of nutrition and marketing. He is on the job market for 2024/2025 and is primarily focused on academic jobs in the domains of agricultural economics, agribusiness, and public policy.