Psychological Well-Being and Child Tax Credit: Comparative Assessment of Payment Approaches
Economics Letters
doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112494 →Agricultural & Applied Economist
Teshager
Assefa Sisha
I use applied econometrics, policy evaluation, and large-scale data to study food systems, public policy, health, and household well-being.
4
Peer-reviewed articles
10+
Years teaching
2026
Ph.D. expected Aug. 2026
Research
Featured paper
Fresh Produce Prices and Mental Health
Using county-level retail scanner data and repeated cross-sections from BRFSS, this paper instruments produce prices with weather-driven supply shocks in major growing regions interacted with distance-based exposure measures. Higher produce prices significantly worsen population mental health, with larger effects in counties with limited baseline food access.
Nutrition policy
How benefit design, payment timing, and food access affect psychological well-being among low-income households
Food policy
Price exposure and food access interactions with household vulnerability and decision-making
Applied microeconomics
Quasi-experimental methods applied to retail scanner data, public health surveys, and household panels
Causal design
Instrumental variables, policy variation, and spatial identification strategies for causal inference
Publications
Spatial Distribution and Determinants of Saving Habit and Asset Ownership among Households in Ethiopia
Discover Data
doi.org/10.1007/s44248-025-00027-5 →Spatially-Informed Insights into Early Marriage and School Dropout
Heliyon
doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32005 →Household Level Food Insecurity Assessment: Evidence from Panel Data, Ethiopia
Scientific African
doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2019.e00262 →Work in progress
Revise & resubmit
The WIC Cliff: Parental Mental Health Impacts from Benefit Transitions
Health Economics
In progress
Fresh Produce Prices and Mental Health
Produce price shocks, food access, and mental health outcomes using retail scanner data and BRFSS
Methods & skills
Econometrics
Causal inference
Instrumental variables
Panel data
Quasi-experimental design
Spatial analysis
Software
Stata
R
Python
LaTeX
Data
BRFSS
Retail scanner data
Household panel data
Survey data
Administrative datasets
Policy variation
Experience
2021 – present
Research Assistant
University of Kentucky
Collaborative research in agricultural economics, food policy, and household well-being. Work spans causal identification using retail scanner data, public health surveys, and administrative datasets.
2019 – 2020
Assistant Professor
Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia
Teaching and graduate advising in economics, statistics, and policy analysis.
2009 – 2018
Lecturer
Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia
Long-running classroom experience across quantitative methods and applied economics. Curriculum development and undergraduate advising.
2003 – 2008
Lecturer
University of Gondar, Ethiopia
Statistics and quantitative methods, with departmental leadership responsibilities.
Grant collaboration
Collaborator on a 2026–2030 USDA NIFA AFRI partnership project developing and evaluating the Beverage Choice Navigation Toolkit to support healthier dietary decisions.
Service
Reviewer for SSM – Population Health, Nutrition and Health, World Development Perspectives, The African Development Review, and Open Agriculture.
Member of AAEA, SAEA, and SEA.
Contact
Location
Department of Agricultural Economics
University of Kentucky, Lexington
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