Pimbucha Rusmevichientong, PhD

Snack Nutrition And Choices For Kids (S.N.A.C.K.)

The prevalence of snack consumers in the U.S.  has progressively increased. In addition, the percentage of total daily energy intake from snacks including chips, soda, chocolate etc. has increased from 18% to 24% over the same time period. Most snacks are energy-dense and nutrient-poor, leading to obesity and obesity related health problems. I focus on understanding children and parents’ snack preferences and their choice decision and developing the program intervention to promote healthy snack accessibility among underserved communities. In addition, I also interested in the types of beverage and snack consumption which are related overall diet quality and obesity development. The studies utilized    both data sources 1)    primary data such as a discrete choice experiment (DCE) survey    conducted in colleges/universities, middle schools and elementary schools, 2)    secondary data such as National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)   .

1. Rusmevichientong, P., Jaynes, J., & Kazemi, S. (2019). Which Factors and Nutritional Ingredients Influence College Students’ Snack Choices? An Evidence from Discrete Choice Experiments. Journal of American College Health, 62 (2), 192-199.
2. Rusmevichientong, P., Mitra, S., & McEligot, A.J. (2018). The association between types of soda consumption and Overall Diet Quality: Evidence from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Californian Journal of Health Promotion, 16 (1), 24-35.

Food Policy Interventions

Using a lab experiment method to examine the effectiveness of several food policy interventions i.e., menu-labeling format, healthy food taxes, healthy food subsidies, anti-obesity advertising and healthy food advertising etc. on improving dietary quality and changing eating behaviors.    

1. Streletskaya, N. A., Amatyakul, W., Kaiser, H. M., Rusmevichientong, P., & Liaukonyte, J. (2015), Menu-labeling formats and their impact on dietary quality. Agribusiness: an International Journal, 32(2), 1-15. DOI: 10.1002/agr.21444
2. Rusmevichienton, P.,Streletskaya, N. A., Amatyakul, W., & Kaiser, H. M. (2014). The impact of food advertisements on changing eating behaviors: an experimental study. Food Policy, 44, 59-67. 10.1016/j.foodpol.2013.10.011
3. Streletskaya, N. A.,Rusmevichientong, P.,Amatyakul, W., & Kaiser, H. M. (2013).Taxes, subsidies, and advertising efficacy in changing eating behaviors: an experimental study. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 1-29.

Agricultural Policy Program Evaluation

The two most prominent government programs operated by United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) (1960–2005) are the Market Access Program (MAP) established in 1985 and the Foreign Market Development Program (FMD) created in 1955. Because of the large amount of money invested, these programs have been studied extensively in terms of their economic impacts. Most of studies focused on the direct effects of export promotion for a specific commodity on that commodity’s exports, with the majority finding that promotion has a statistically significant impact on exports. Unfortunately, there have been few studies that have empirically examined whether a halo effect actually exists, and none focused on the grain export market. My studies focused on the effectiveness of US rice export promotion programs and the halo effect of US grain export promotions.

1. Rusmevichientong, P. & Kaiser, H. M. (2011). Are there halo effects of U.S. grain export promotion? Applied Economics, 43, 1435-1446.
2. Rusmevichientong, P.& Kaiser, H. M. (2009).Measuring the effectiveness of U.S. rice export promotion programs. Agribusiness: An international Journal, 25, 215-230.
3. Rusmevichientong, P.& Kaiser, H. M. (2007). An economic analysis of U.S. rice export promotion programs. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, 36, 357.