Policy Options for Food Assistance in India: Lessons from the United States

October, 2007      Download this brief (PDF).

By Thomas MaCurdy and Sriniketh Nagavarapu

Thomas MaCurdy is a professor of economics at Stanford University and a senior fellow at SIEPR and at the Hoover Institution. His research primarily explores the effects of policy designs on programs making up public assistance systems, including such programs as Medicare, welfare, foster care, food stamps, low-skilled training, earned income tax credit, work-force development, unemployment compensation, Social Security, Medicaid, and other government aid for health care. He also serves as an advisor to many state and local governmental agencies in California and is a member of California’s Health Benefits Review Program Task Force. Professor MaCurdy received his PhD from the University of Chicago.

Sriniketh Nagavarapu is a PhD candidate in the Department of Economics at Stanford University. His research is on both labor and development issues, dealing primarily with government transfer programs, education and work decisions among youth, and rural labor markets. His dissertation examines the consequences of changes in United States ethanol policy on sugarcane production in Brazil, with the goal of predicting the accompanying effects on the environment and incomes of Brazilian workers. Nagavarapu received his BA in 2002 from Stanford University.