Browsing by Author "McFadden, Brandon R."
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Item Knowledge gaps about micronutrient deficiencies in Tanzania and the effect of information interventions(Global Food Security, 2024-02-02) Kilasy, Pius; McFadden, Brandon R.; Davidson, Kelly A.; Palm-Forster, Leah H.There were knowledge gaps about the severity of deficiencies and biofortified foods.Reducing micronutrient malnutrition (“hidden hunger”) in low-income countries is a global challenge, particularly among women, children, and high-poverty households. Countries like Tanzania have developed diverse strategies to combat malnutrition, including the biofortification of staple foods. However, broad awareness and knowledge of micronutrient deficiencies and beneficial foods are needed for these strategies to be effective. The objectives of this study were to (i) examine Tanzanian consumers' initial awareness and knowledge of deficiencies for four micronutrients and associated biofortified foods, and (ii) to examine the effectiveness of targeted communication approaches (i.e., information and branding) to improve knowledge. Data were collected from 1029 respondents in Tanzania using an online survey. Respondents were randomly assigned to treatments across two experiments in the survey. One experiment examined the effect of information about susceptibility and severity of micronutrient deficiencies and foods that reduce the risk of deficiency, and the other experiment examined the impact of ‘branding’ biofortified foods. The combination of providing information and branded biofortified crops most effectively reduced knowledge gaps about negative health outcomes and risk-reducing foods. Results suggest a need for evidence-based interventions that provide broad nutrition education and financial assistance for purchasing food. Highlights • Knowledge gaps were identified for deficiency in iron, vitamin A, and zinc. • Information interventions were used to identify knowledge gaps. • No information was provided for iodine to determine internal validity of results. • The at-risk subpopulation, women of reproductive age, were oversampled. • There were knowledge gaps about the severity of deficiencies and biofortified foods.Item Private costs of carbon emissions abatement by limiting beef consumption and vehicle use in the United States(PLoS ONE, 2022-01-19) McFadden, Brandon R.; Ferraro, Paul J.; Messer, Kent D.A popular strategy for mitigating climate change is to persuade or incentivize individuals to limit behaviors associated with high greenhouse gas emissions. In this study, adults in the mid-Atlantic United States bid in an auction to receive compensation for eliminating beef consumption or limiting vehicle use. The auction incentivized participants to reveal their true costs of accepting these limits for periods ranging from one week to one year. Compliance with the conditions of the auction was confirmed via a random field audit of the behavioral changes. The estimated median abatement costs were greater than $600 per tCO2e for beef consumption and $1,300 per tCO2e for vehicle use, values much higher than the price of carbon offsets and most estimates of the social cost of carbon. Although these values may decline over time with experience or broader social adoption, they imply that policies that encourage innovations to reduce the costs of behavior change, such as meat alternatives or emission-free vehicles, may be a more fruitful than those that limit beef consumption or vehicle use.