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Economic Research Report No. (ERR-233) 32 pp

July 2017

The Effects of Energy Price Shocks on Household Food Security in Low-Income Households

by Charlotte Tuttle and Timothy K. M. Beatty

This report estimates the effects of unexpected price changes in gasoline, natural gas, and electricity on household food security status over the years 2000 to 2014. The results indicate that unexpected increases in energy prices increase the likelihood that a low-income household will experience food insecurity or other measures of food distress.

See related Amber Waves article Unexpected Hikes in Energy Prices Increase the Likelihood of Food Insecurity.

Keywords: food security, energy price shocks, heat and eat, poverty

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