Exploring the influence of the National School Lunch Program on children using the early childhood longitudinal study

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, 1998-1999 Kindergarten Cohort, the proposed study examines two research questions. First, what are the effects of participation in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) on changes in children's behavior, test scores, and body weight? Second, do these effects differ by gender? To address issues of selection, we use first difference regression techniques. These techniques reduce the bias resulting from unobserved time-invariant characteristics that influence a family's enrollment in the NSLP. The results from this project provide important insight into the role of the National School Lunch Program in influencing child health, academic well-being, and social development.