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Replication Files for "Slow Traffic, Fast Food: The Effects of Time Lost on Food Store Choice"

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Panka Bencsik, Vanderbilt University; Lester Lusher, University of Pittsburgh; Rebecca Taylor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Version:  View help for Version V2

Name File Type Size Last Modified
  ReplicationCode 12/20/2024 11:44:AM

Project Citation: 

Bencsik, Panka, Lusher, Lester, and Taylor, Rebecca. Replication Files for “Slow Traffic, Fast Food: The Effects of Time Lost on Food Store Choice.” Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-12-20. https://doi.org/10.3886/E213861V2

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary Time scarcity is one of the strongest correlates of fast food consumption. To estimate the causal effect of time lost on food choice, we match daily store-specific foot traffic data traced via smartphones to plausibly exogenous shocks in highway traffic congestion in Los Angeles County. We find that on days when highways are more congested, individuals are more likely to frequent fast food restaurants and less likely to grocery shop. In our main model, a one standard deviation increase in traffic delay leads to a 1% increase in fast food visits, equivalent to 1.2 million more fast food visits in Los Angeles County per year. The effects are particularly pronounced for afternoon rush hour traffic. Our results imply a net reduction in healthy food store choice due to time lost.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms traffic congestion; time constraints; store choice; nutrition; fast food
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage Los Angeles County
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 1/1/2017 – 12/31/2020


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Published Versions

V3 [2025-01-02]

V2 [2024-12-20]

V1 [2024-12-20]

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