First-difference Estimator Research Articles

Analyzing the Impact of Family Structure Changes on Children's Stress Levels Using a Stress Biomarker.

Changes in family structure (e.g., parental separation or stepfamily formation) are associated with a deterioration in children's well-being. Most researchers have focused on the impact of such changes on children's educational and psychosocial outcomes, whereas the effects on children's biological processes have been studied less often. We analyze the effects of changes in family structure on children's stress levels using data from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents study (2003-2006 and 2014-2017). Our outcome variable is the biomarker c-reactive protein (CRP), which correlates with psychological distress and is collected from blood samples. Calculating first-difference estimators, we analyze whether children have higher CRP levels after changing to (1) single-parent families (n = 117) or (2) stepfamilies (n = 80). Our findings suggest that changing to a single-parent family significantly increases children's stress, whereas changing to a stepfamily does not. These observations are important because increased stress in childhood can negatively affect well-being later in life.

HIV Treatment and Mental Health Outcomes Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With HIV in a Pilot Multicomponent Intervention in Guatemala City.

Globally, gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV, but few interventions address mental health and HIV outcomes among GBMSM living with HIV. The purpose of this study was to pilot a multicomponent intervention, integrating emotional well-being (EW) and health navigation for GBMSM living with HIV in Guatemala City. We implemented a 12-month intervention, including a four-session EW component and a health navigation component among newly diagnosed and reengaged GBMSM with HIV (n = 112). We conducted socio-behavioral surveys at baseline and endline to measure patient characteristics and HIV, and mental health outcomes as well as viral load testing. We documented participation in EW sessions and used a smartphone application to track navigation mode, frequency, and content. Using first-difference estimation modeling, we assessed associations between participation in EW and navigation and mental health (depression and anxiety symptoms) and HIV outcomes (HIV treatment adherence, viral suppression). Acceptability was high for EW (86%) and navigation (99%). During the intervention, viral suppression increased significantly and anxiety and depression decreased significantly. Participation in EW sessions and greater navigation frequency and duration were associated with being suppressed, whereas higher emotional navigator support was associated with being unsuppressed. Participation in EW sessions was associated with reduced anxiety. Findings suggest that multicomponent interventions integrating individual counseling and navigation may promote EW and sustained viral suppression. Future intervention research is needed to confirm whether HIV and mental health outcomes are attributable to the intervention and to assess mechanisms of influence.

Financial resilience of Spanish wineries during the COVID-19 lockdown

Purpose This study aims to focus on the impact of COVID-19 on the Spanish wine sector and the financial resilience of Spanish wineries in the period 2019–2020. Design/methodology/approach The data set contains 355 limited companies of the Spanish wine sector which were active in the period 2019–2020. The explanatory variables used are size and age of the company, exports, subsidies and gender distribution in the workforce. The financial statements of the companies are treated as compositional data, using log-ratios for asset structure, leverage, margin, turnover and debt maturity. The first-difference estimator is used for the panel-data model relating the differences in the log-ratios between 2020 and 2019 to the explanatory variables. Findings In average terms, margin and turnover have significantly worsened between 2019 and 2020, while debt maturity has increased. A larger firm size, a greater age, a higher share of women in the workforce and subsidies have made wineries more resilient between 2019 and 2020. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first financial statement analysis of the impact of COVID-19 in the winery sector.

Salad Consumption in Relation to Daily Dietary Intake and Diet Quality among U.S. Adults, 2003-2012


 Backgrounds: This study examined salad consumption in relation to daily dietary intake and diet quality among U.S. adults.
 Methods: Nationally representative sample came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2012 waves. Salad consumption was identified through both Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies codes for salad items and combination code for components of and/or additions to salads. First-difference estimator addressed confounding bias from time-invariant unobservables (e.g., eating habits, taste preferences) by using within-individual variations in salad consumption between 2 nonconsecutive 24-hour dietary recalls.
 Results: Approximately 28.7% of U.S. adults consumed salad on any given day. Among salad consumers, salad consumption occupied 12.5% of daily total energy, 62.8% vegetable, 11.9% fruit, 18.4% fiber, 9.1% sugar, 20.3% total fat, 14.7% saturated fat, 14.9% cholesterol, and 17.7% sodium intake. Compared to no salad consumption on a dietary recall day, salad consumption was associated with increased daily intake of total energy by 461.5 kJ (110.3 kcal), vegetable 85.0 g, fiber 1.0 g, sugar 5.7 g, total fat 10.0 g, saturated fat 1.3 g, cholesterol 18.7 mg, and sodium 216.3 mg. Salad consumption was associated with an increase in the Healthy Eating Index-2010 score by 4.2.
 Conclusion: Salad consumption is related to better overall diet quality but also higher total energy, sugar, fat, cholesterol, and sodium intake. Interventions that promote salad consumption should provide low-energy-dense, nutrient-rich salad products. Salad consumers should prudently evaluate the caloric and nutrient content of salad in order to make informed and more healthful diet choices.

Do controlling shareholders expropriate employees? Evidence from workplace fatalities in China

We investigate whether controlling shareholders may expropriate employees for their private benefits in the case of workplace accidents. Using a sample of China's non-state-owned listed firms in industries with high workplace safety hazards during 2008–2016, we find that the expropriation incentives of controlling shareholders, as measured by the separation of control and cash flow rights of controlling shareholders, are positively related to workplace fatalities due to accidents. We check the robustness of this finding against the endogeneity problem by employing the first-difference estimator model, an exogenous shock, and the propensity score matching (PSM) approach. Furthermore, we show that the positive relation between expropriation incentives and workplace fatalities is more pronounced for firms with weaker corporate governance, firms facing more severe financial constraints, firms suffering from stronger expropriation problems, and firms with lower perceived costs. Finally, firms exhibiting stronger expropriation motivations from controlling shareholders perform worse after workplace safety accidents with employee deaths. Overall, we suggest that controlling shareholders expropriate the interests of employees, which has considerably adverse impacts on employees and firms.

Offending Frequency and Responses to Illegal Monetary Incentives

We examine how responsive offenders are to illegal monetary incentives. We draw from rational choice theory, prospect theory, and models of labor supply to develop expectations regarding the relationship between criminal efficiency, which is the average earnings per offense, and frequency of offending. We use OLS, fixed effects, and first-difference estimators to analyze data from 152 incarcerated male inmates from Quebec, Canada to study within individual monthly changes in criminal efficiency and offending frequency. There is an inverse relationship between criminal efficiency and frequency of offending, net of individual fixed effects, for market crimes, but not property crimes. We also find that the supply of crime is inelastic, meaning it is not highly sensitive to illegal wage changes. In the months that offenders have an average bigger pay-off per crime, they offended less frequently. We conjecture that this negative relationship could be explained by two mechanisms: an income effect and/or through reference dependence. However, we are not able to disentangle between the two mechanisms. Moreover, we note that criminal efficiency is likely endogenous and should be treated as such in future scholarship.

Bankacılık Sektöründe Finansal İnovasyonun Bölgelerin Büyümesine Etkileri

Çalışma, finansal gelişme ve büyüme arasındaki ilişkiye, finans piyasaları içinde önemli yere sahip olan bankacılık sektöründeki finansal inovasyonun etkileri üzerinden yoğunlaşmaktadır. Bankalar, küreselleşmenin getirdiği rekabet etkisi ile, teknolojinin gelişmesine paralel olarak teknoloji alt yapılı inovatif ürün ve hizmetlere ağırlık vermek zorunda kalmışlardır. Bu çerçevede çalışma, bankacılık sektöründe finansal inovasyonlar ile Türkiye ekonomisi ve daha ayrıntılı şekilde Türkiye’nin bölgesel ekonomisinin büyümesi arasındaki ilişki ortaya konulmayı amaçlamaktadır. Türkiye ve bölgeler için kullanılan inovasyon değişkenlerinin sayı olarak fazlalığı sebebiyle ve ilgili değişkenleri mümkün olduğunca daha az sayıyla temsil etmek adına Temel Bileşen Analiz (PrincipalComponent Analysis) metodu kullanılarak yeni inovasyon endeksleri oluşturulmuştur. Türkiye için yapılan analizinde 1998-2017 dönemi yıllık verileri kullanılmıştır. Her değişken için Genelleştirilmiş Dickey Fuller Birim Kök testi yapıldıktan sonra ARDL Eşbütünleşme Testi uygulanmıştır. Türkiye’nin bölgeleri için yapılan analizde ise; 2007-2017 dönemi yıllık veriler kullanılarak, dinamik panel veri yöntemlerinden Arellano-Bond GMM birinci farklar tahmin yöntemi, Arellono ve Bover/Blundell ve Bond’un İki Aşamalı Sistem GMM ve Havuzlanmış Veri (Pooled Data) yöntemi uygulanmıştır. Analiz sonuçlarına göre, Türkiye ve Türkiye’nin bazı bölgelerinde bankacılık sektöründe yaşanan teknolojik gelişme, küreselleşme ve bilginin öncülüğünde gelişim gösteren inovasyon temelli ürün ve hizmetler ekonomiye olumlu ve pozitif katkı sunmaktadır. Bu sonuç Schumpeter’in görüşünü ve içsel büyüme teorilerini destekler niteliktedir.

The impact of safety net programs on early-life developmental outcomes

Existing scholarly evidence suggests that early-life environments play a critical role in shaping an individual’s long-term socioeconomic outcomes. The impact of safety net programs on early-life environments and outcomes is largely unknown.This study uses novel data to estimate the impact of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and home visitation (HV) programs on cognitive and language outcomes in children up to 24 months. Repeated measurements on participation in public programs and early-life outcomes for a large sample of children and mothers in Memphis, Shelby county, TN were collected. Within this dataset the exposure-outcome relationship is directly observable over time. The specific structure of the data enables us to address endogeneity concerns via the use of first-difference estimators combined with a rich set of time-varying covariates.We provide empirical evidence to conclude that WIC participation is associated with a positive and statistically significant impact of 0.32 and 0.16 standard deviations in receptive communication and expressive communication scores. Overall, participation in these safety net programs is shown to have meaningfully contributed to improving developmental outcomes among children up to two years of age. Presented empirical evidence might be critical at a time when funding for WIC, SNAP or other safety-net programs is in peril.

Consistent Estimation of the Fixed Effects Probit Model

This paper introduces a new estimator for the fixed-effects binary choice model. The proposed method consists of eliminating the fixed effect by reworking the inequalities implied by the binary choice model and is akin in spirit to a linear panel first-difference estimator. The new method is very simple, faster than current alternatives, as shown by Monte Carlo simulations, and, more importantly, consistent. The dynamic nonlinear panel model is also covered. As an empirical application, I consider the demand for video games in Steam.

Does Volunteering Make Us Happier, or Are Happier People More Likely to Volunteer? Addressing the Problem of Reverse Causality When Estimating the Wellbeing Impacts of Volunteering

Evidence of the correlation between volunteering and wellbeing has been gradually accumulating, but to date this research has had limited success in accounting for the factors that are likely to drive self-selection into volunteering by ‘happier’ people. To better isolate the impact that volunteering has on people’s wellbeing, we explore nationally representative UK household datasets with an extensive longitudinal component, to run panel analysis which controls for the previous higher or lower levels of SWB that volunteers report. Using first-difference estimation within the British Household Panel Survey and Understanding Society longitudinal panel datasets (10 waves spanning about 20 years), we are able to control for higher prior levels of wellbeing of those who volunteer, and to produce the most robust quasi-causal estimates to date by ensuring that volunteering is associated not just with a higher wellbeing a priori, but with a positive change in wellbeing. Comparison of equivalent wellbeing values from previous studies shows that our analysis is the most realistic and conservative estimate to date of the association between volunteering and subjective wellbeing, and its equivalent wellbeing value of £911 per volunteer per year on average to compensate for the wellbeing increase associated with volunteering. It is our hope that these values can be incorporated into decision-making at the policy and practitioner level, to ensure that the societal benefits provided by volunteering are better understood and internalised into decisions.

Fresh and Lean Pork Consumption in Relation to Nutrient Intakes and Diet Quality among US Adults, NHANES 2005-2016

Objective: In this study, we assessed the influence of pork consumption on nutrient intakes and diet quality among US adults. Methods: We used a nationally-representative sample (N=27,117) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005–2016 waves for analysis. First-difference estimator addressed confounding bias from time-invariant non-observables (eg, eating habits, taste preferences) by using within-individual variations in pork consumption between 2 nonconsecutive 24-hour dietary recalls. Results: Approximately 19.4%, 16.5%, and 16.1% of US adults consumed pork, fresh pork, and fresh lean pork, respectively. Prevalence of pork, fresh pork, and fresh lean pork consumption differed by sex, race/ethnicity, and education level. Increased fresh and lean pork rather than total pork intake was related to marginally improved nutritional intakes (ie, protein, magnesium, potassium, selenium, zinc, phosphorus, and vitamins B1, B2, B3, and B6) with lesser increases in daily total energy, saturated fat, and sodium intakes. Pork, fresh pork, and fresh lean pork consumption was not found to be associated with the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015 score. Conclusion: US adult pork consumers may increase their share of fresh and fresh lean pork over total pork consumption in an effort to increase their daily intakes of beneficial nutrients while minimizing intakes of energy, saturated fat, and sodium.

Lighten the Burden: Assessing the Impact of a for-Poor-Students Cash Transfer Program on Spending Behaviour

The Indonesian Government launched a for-poor students cash transfer program (Bantuan Siswa Miskin, BSM) to aid poor students in attaining goods and services that would improve school attendance. Recipients should spend the cash to support school attendance, however, the government does not have any control on how households spend the transfer. Using the Indonesian Family Life Survey, we evaluate whether the BSM program affects education spending. To deal with the issues of endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity, we use the BSM eligibility criteria set by the government as instrumental variables and the first-difference estimation strategy. We find that BSM has a significant and positive effect on education spending. This study provides evidence that households use the transfer according to the intended purpose even though there is no formal mechanism to ensure households’ compliance.

Effects of the European Common Agricultural Policy on Preserving Biodiversity: Farmland Birds in Slovenia

Abstract This paper assesses the effects of agricultural payments on changes in farmland bird diversity in Slovenia. Diversity was measured by Shannon index, while the impacts were estimated with the first-difference estimator on panel data for municipalities with and without special protection areas for birds. The effects of agricultural payments on farmland biodiversity require that the balance of financial instruments be taken into account when the agricultural policy is being drafted. The effects of payments in municipalities with and without special protection areas indicate the need to consider the landscape perspective and adapt schemes to landscape type while preparing the national agricultural policy.

Chronic Ongoing Stressors and C-Reactive Protein: A Within-Person Study.

Objectives: Literature suggests C-reactive protein (CRP)-as a marker of low-grade systemic inflammation-may mediate the linkage between chronic stressors and cardiometabolic conditions. Previous population-based reports are based on weak methodologies and may have yielded incorrect inferences. The current study examined linkages of within-person CRP variation with corresponding variation in stressor burdens. Method: Data were from the 2006, 2010, and 2014 waves of the U.S. Health and Retirement Study. Analysis was through unit fixed effects and first-difference estimators. Both gender-combined and gender-specific models were run. Results: In none of the analyses was CRP positively associated with chronic stressors. This was true among both genders, and in models of linear as well as nonlinear change. Results held in a series of separate robustness checks. Discussion: CRP may not mediate the social etiology of degenerative diseases. Population representative evidence of inflammation's role in these processes remains absent.

Fresh and Lean Beef Consumption in Relation to Nutrient Intakes and Diet Quality Among U.S. Adults, 2005–2016 (P18-057-19)

ObjectivesThis study assessed the influence of beef consumption on nutrient intakes and diet quality among U.S. adults. MethodsNationally-representative sample (N = 27,117) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005–2016 waves were analyzed. First-difference estimator addressed confounding bias from time-invariant unobservables (e.g., eating habits, taste preferences) by using within-individual variations in beef consumption between 2 nonconsecutive 24-hour dietary recalls. ResultsApproximately 53.6%, 11.6%, and 6.7% of American adults consumed beef, fresh beef, lean beef, and fresh lean beef, respectively. An increase in lean beef and fresh lean beef consumption by one ounce-equivalent per day was associated with an increase in the Health Eating Index-2010 score by 0.20 (95% CI = 0.10, 0.29) and 0.29 (95% CI = 0.03, 0.55), respectively. Prevalence of beef, fresh beef, lean beef, and fresh lean beef consumption differed by sex, age, race/ethnicity, education level, and obesity status. An increase in beef, fresh beef, lean beef, and fresh lean beef consumption by one ounce-equivalent per day was found to be associated with an increase in intakes of total energy by 46.1, 39.6, 34.3, and 23.3 kcal, protein by 5.0, 4.1, 4.9, and 4.2 g, sodium by 66.6, 63.4, 35.8, and 39.1 mg, choline by 18.9, 18.1, 19.4, and 18.9 mg, iron by 0.6, 0.6, 0.5, and 0.5 mg, selenium by 3.8, 3.4, 3.6, and 3.8 μg, zinc by 1.4, 1.2, 1.3, and 1.1 mg, phosphorus by 37.1, 37.5, 32.4, and 34.4 mg, vitamin B2 by 0.03, 0.05, 0.02, and 0.04 mg, vitamin B3 by 0.9, 0.6, 0.9, and 0.6 mg, and vitamin B6 by 0.1, 0.06, 0.1, and 0.07 mg, respectively. An increase in beef, fresh beef, and lean beef consumption by one ounce-equivalent per day was found to be associated with an increase in daily intakes of saturated fat by 0.9, 0.8, and 0.6 g, and vitamin B12 by 0.4, 0.3, and 0.4 μg, respectively. No association linking fresh lean beef consumption with daily intakes of saturated fat and vitamin B12 was identified. ConclusionsBeef consumers are advised to increase their share of fresh and lean beef over total beef intake in an effort to maximize their nutritional gains from beef consumption while minimize the resultant increase in energy, saturated fat, and sodium intake. Funding SourcesNational Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

Total, Fresh, Lean, and Fresh Lean Beef Consumption in Relation to Nutrient Intakes and Diet Quality among U.S. Adults, 2005⁻2016.

(1) Background: This study assessed the influence of beef consumption on nutrient intakes and diet quality among U.S. adults. (2) Methods: Nationally-representative sample (n = 27,117) from 2005–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was analyzed. First-difference estimator addressed confounding bias from time-invariant unobservables (e.g., eating habits, taste preferences) by using within-individual variations in beef consumption between 2 nonconsecutive 24 h dietary recalls. (3) Results: Approximately 54%, 39%, 12%, and 7% of U.S. adults consumed beef, lean beef, fresh beef, and fresh lean beef, respectively. Overall diet quality measured by the Health Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) score among beef, fresh beef, lean beef, and fresh lean beef consumers was lower than beef non-consumers. Regression analyses found that beef, fresh beef, lean beef, and fresh lean beef consumption was associated with higher daily intakes of total energy, protein, sodium, choline, iron, selenium, zinc, phosphorus, and multiple B vitamins. Beef, fresh beef, and lean beef consumption but not fresh lean beef consumption was associated with higher saturated fat intake. Beef consumption was not found to be associated with overall dietary quality measured by the HEI-2015 score. (4) Conclusions: Beef consumers may increase the intake of fresh and lean beef over total beef consumption to maximize the nutritional gains from beef portions while minimizing the resulting increases in energy, saturated fat, and sodium.

Healthcare-Seeking Behavior and Out-of-Pocket Payments in Rural Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

This study investigates the determinants of patient’s choice of treatment (i.e., modern vs. alternative healthcare) using Bangladesh’s Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) dataset for exploring their healthcare-seeking behavior and the extent of out-of-pocket (OOP) payment due to illnesses. It explores this issues using the descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis like analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Chi-square test as well as econometric modeling (probit regression model on modern healthcare utilization for the full sample as well as for each quintile). All these help to identify the determinants of healthcare-seeking behavior in rural Bangladesh and how these vary across the quintiles of expenditure on food consumption. This study finds that higher percentage of healthcare-seeking patients receives alternative healthcare because of the lower cost and easier access compared to modern healthcare. The marginal effects of the predisposing factors like patient’s age, parent’s literacy, mother’s age, house with separate dining room, access to electricity and mobile are significantly positive, which means these are more likely to influence modern healthcare utilization. In contrast, the marginal effects of the enabling factors like income, landholdings, access to social benefit are positive, but insignificant. Therefore, predisposing factors rather than enabling factors play crucial role in determining choice of modern treatment in rural Bangladesh. In addition, variations in the marginal effects exist across different groups based on regression by quintile. Finally, sickness prevalence as well as modern healthcare utilization also varies across geographic regions. The average OOP payment is higher for modern healthcare compared to alternative one and it remains true after disaggregation of OOP expenditure. Disease-specific OOP using first-difference method is also positive for all diseases (i.e., OOP expenditure for modern healthcare> OOP expenditure for alternative healthcare) and most of the first-difference estimates are statistically significant. Similar tendencies are also observed in case of applying distributional analysis using quintiles. All these are important for formulating a national health policy for the rural people in Bangladesh. At last, a special attention to expanding utilization of modern healthcare is required for young mothers, elderly household head and the patients belong to minority group in rural Bangladesh.

Modified first-difference estimator in a panel data model with unobservable factors both in the errors and the regressors when the time dimension is small

ABSTRACTPanel data models with factor structures in both the errors and the regressors have received considerable attention recently. In these models, the errors and the regressors are correlated and the standard estimators are inconsistent. This paper shows that, for such models, a modified first-difference estimator (in which the time and the cross-sectional dimensions are interchanged) is consistent as the cross-sectional dimension grows but the time dimension is small. Although the estimator has a non standard asymptotic distribution, t and F tests have standard asymptotic distribution under the null hypothesis.

Sandwich consumption in relation to daily dietary intake and diet quality among US adults, 2003–2012

ObjectivesAbout one half of the US adult population consumed one or more sandwiches on any given day. Sandwich consumption may profoundly influence people's calorie intake and diet quality. However, few studies have investigated the nutritional impact of sandwich consumption at the national level. We examined sandwich consumption in relation to daily dietary intake and diet quality among US adults. Study designRetrospective data analysis. MethodsNationally representative sample consisting of 27,075 adults 18 years of age and above came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2012 waves. Sandwich consumption was identified based on the What We Eat in America Food Category and the NHANES diet combination code. First-difference estimator addressed confounding bias from time-invariant unobservables (e.g. eating habits, taste preferences) by using within-individual variations in sandwich consumption between two non-consecutive 24-h dietary recalls. ResultsDuring 2003–2012, approximately 53.2% of US adults consumed sandwiches on any given day. Among sandwich consumers, nearly a quarter of daily total calorie intake and about a third of total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium intake came from sandwich consumption. Men, non-Hispanic whites, young and middle-aged adults, people with higher income, and overweight/obese adults were more likely to consume sandwiches. Among those who consumed sandwiches on either but not both of the two dietary recall days, in comparison to no sandwich consumption, sandwich consumption on a dietary recall day was associated with an increase in daily intake of total energy by 98.7 kcal, total fat 6.8 g, and sodium 267.9 mg (P-value < 0.001). Statistically significant but relatively small differences were also found for other nutrients and food groups—sandwich consumption was associated with an increase in daily intake of sugar by 3.0 g (P-value < 0.01) and saturated fat 2.5 g (P-value < 0.001), a decrease in daily intake of vegetables by 8.4 g (P-value < 0.01), fruit 4.5 g (P-value < 0.05), and fibre 0.8 g (P-value < 0.001), and a decrease in the Healthy Eating Index-2010 score by 1.6 points (P-value < 0.001). ConclusionsConsumers should prudently evaluate the calorie/nutrient content of sandwich in order to make healthier dietary choices.

Plain water consumption in relation to energy intake and diet quality among US adults, 2005-2012.

The present study examined plain water consumption in relation to energy intake and diet quality among US adults. A nationally representative sample of 18 311 adults aged ≥18 years, from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2012, was analysed. The first-difference estimator approach addressed confounding bias from time-invariant unobservables (e.g. eating habits, taste preferences) by using within-individual variations in diet and plain water consumption between two nonconsecutive 24-h dietary recalls. One percentage point increase in the proportion of daily plain water in total dietary water consumption was associated with a reduction in mean (95% confidence interval) daily total energy intake of 8.58 (7.87-9.29) kcal, energy intake from sugar-sweetened beverages of 1.43 (1.27-1.59) kcal, energy intake from discretionary foods of 0.88 (0.44-1.32) kcal, total fat intake of 0.21 (0.17-0.25) g, saturated fat intake of 0.07 (0.06-0.09) g, sugar intake of 0.74 (0.67-0.82) g, sodium intake of 9.80 (8.20-11.39) mg and cholesterol intake of 0.88 (0.64-1.13) g. The effects of plain water intake on diet were similar across race/ethnicity, education attainment, income level and body weight status, whereas they were larger among males and young/middle-aged adults than among females and older adults, respectively. Daily overall diet quality measured by the Healthy Eating Index-2010 was not found to be associated with the proportion of daily plain water in total dietary water consumption. Promoting plain water intake could be a useful public health strategy for reducing energy and targeted nutrient consumption in US adults, which warrants confirmation in future controlled interventions.