Constance Newman

Deputy Director for Research and Communications
202-694-5598
cnewman@ers.usda.gov

Briefly

Constance Newman is the Deputy Director for Research and Communications in the Food Economics Division. As an ERS economist from 2000 to 2016, she analyzed many complex economic issues, particularly related to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Her research projects included analysis of linked SNAP administrative and household survey data, income volatility, and the impacts of recent legislation for school meal programs.

Background

Constance conducted research on a range of issues of importance to food assistance programs. This included examination of SNAP administrative data linked to household surveys to better understand SNAP receipt, the income of SNAP recipients, and the quality of SNAP survey data. She examined many issues related to school meal programs, including children's healthy food consumption, the challenges schools face with rising costs, and the impacts of recent legislation on school meal programs. Earlier in her career at ERS, Constance showed how high income volatility among low-income families affects program eligibility and participation in school meal programs. She had previously conducted research in labor economics, poverty analysis, time use, labor productivity, immigration, and electric markets.

Education

Constance holds a Ph.D. and a Master's in Agricultural Economics from the University of California, Davis. Her Bachelor's in International Relations is from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Selected Publications

Newman, C., and M. Prell. 2016. "Investigating Temporal Effects on Measured SNAP Participation Rates," Amber Waves, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, March.

Ralston, K., and C. Newman. 2015. School Meals in Transition, EIB-143, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, August.

Prell, M., C. Newman, and E. Scherpf. 2015. Annual and Monthly SNAP Participation Rates, ERR-192, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, August.

Scherpf, E., C. Newman, and M. Prell. 2015. Improving the Assessment of SNAP Targeting Using Administrative Records, ERR-186, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, May.

Newman, C., and E. Scherpf. 2013. Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) Access at the State and County Levels: Evidence from Texas and the American Community Survey, ERR-156, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, September.

Newman, C. 2013. Fruit and Vegetable Consumption by NSLP Participants: Implications for the Success of New Meal Standards, ERR-154, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, August.

Newman, C. 2012. "The Food Costs of Healthier School Lunches," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 41(1):12-18, April. 

Newman, C., J.E. Todd, and M. Ver Ploeg. 2011. "Children's Participation in Multiple Food Assistance Programs: 1990 to 2008," Social Service Review, December.

Todd, J.E., C. Newman, and M. Ver Ploeg. 2010. Changing Participation in Food Assistance Programs Among Low-Income Children After Welfare Reform, ERR-92, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, February.

Newman, C., J. Guthrie, L. Mancino, K. Ralston, and M. Musiker. 2009. Meeting Total Fat Requirements for School Lunches: Influence of School Policies and Characteristics, ERR-87, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, December.

Newman, C., and D. Jolliffe. 2009. "Income Volatility Is Rising, With Mixed Effects on Nutrition Assistance Participation," Amber Waves 7(4):28-31, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, November.

Newman, C. 2008. "The Income Volatility See-Saw: Implications for School Lunch," Income Volatility and Food Assistance in the United States, D. Jolliffe, and J. Ziliak, eds., chapter 6. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute.

Newman, C., K. Ralston, and A. Clauson. 2008. "Balancing Nutrition, Participation, and Cost in the National School Lunch Program," Amber Waves 6(4):32-39, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, September.

Mancino, L., and C. Newman. 2007. "Time Is Money...and Dinner!" Amber Waves 5(4):4, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, September.

Mancino, L., and C. Newman. 2007. Who Has Time to Cook? How Family Resources Influence Food Preparation, ERR-40, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, May.

Newman, C. 2006. "Income Volatility Complicates Food Assistance," Amber Waves (feature) 4(4):16-21, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, September.

Newman, C. 2006. The Income Volatility See-Saw: Implications for School Lunch, ERR-23, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, August.

Newman, C., and K. Ralston. 2006. Profiles of Participants in the National School Lunch Program: Data from Two National Surveys, EIB-17, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, August.

Newman, C. 2003. Impacts of Hispanic Population Growth on Rural Wages, AER-826, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, September.

Newman, C. 2002. "Electric Market Restructuring: Issues for Rural America," Rural America 17(1):2-11, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

Newman, C. 2002. "Gender, Time Use, and Change: Impacts of the Cut Flower Industry in Ecuador," World Bank Economic Review 16(3):375-396.

Canagarajah, S., C. Newman, and R. Bhattamishra. 2001. "Non-Farm Income, Gender, and Inequality: Evidence from Rural Ghana and Uganda," Food Policy 26(4):405-420.

Newman, C., and L. Jarvis. 2000. "Worker and Firm Determinants of Piece Rate Variation in an Agricultural Labor Market," Economic Development and Cultural Change 49(1):137-170.