About

Stephen Vosti is an adjunct Professor Emeritus in the Agricultural and Resource Economics Department at the University of California, Davis. His fields of interest include Tropical Deforestation, Economic Development, Poverty-Environment Links, Bioeconomic Models, Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, Economics of Early Childhood Undernutrition, and Cost-effective Programs for Addressing Micronutrient Deficiencies in Developing Countries. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, obtained in 1984, a Master of Science from the same university in 1981, and a Bachelor of Arts from Whitman College in 1977. His recent courses include The Economics of Small Farms and Farming Systems and The Economics of Human Nutrition. Vosti's work focuses on applying economic principles to address issues related to natural resource management, development, and nutrition, contributing to research and education in these areas at UC Davis.

Research topics

• Environmental health
• Medicine
• Business
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Economics
• Ecology
• Statistics
• Demography
• Economic growth
• Development economics
• Geography
• Mathematics
• Biology

Selected publications

• Effect of Multiple Micronutrient-Fortified Bouillon on the Anemia and Iron Status of Non-Pregnant, Non-Lactating Women of Reproductive Age in Northern Ghana

  Current Developments in Nutrition · 2025-05-01

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• The Cost and Cost-Effectiveness of Vitamin A Supplementation: An Assessment of a Vitamin A Days-Plus Event in Burkina Faso

  Food and Nutrition Bulletin · 2025-08-08

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Background: Campaign-based vitamin A supplementation (VAS) programs are under pressure to reduce costs and increase coverage. Objectives: This study examined coverage, costs, cost-effectiveness, and cost burdens of a campaign-based VAS event (JVA+) in the Yako and Kombissiri health districts of central Burkina Faso. Methods: Data were collected from groups of JVA+ event implementers and caregivers. Post-event coverage surveys measured coverage; spatially scaled primary data provided estimates of costs. Costs of caregiver participation were measured. Data were provided by all actors involved in the design and implementation of the JVA+ event. Results: Overall, 88% of the target age group was covered. Overall coverage did not differ across health districts but was lower in urban areas. Children 6 to 11 months of age had lower coverage, especially in urban areas. The VAS event cost ∼137k USD. Average cost per child reached was 1.34 USD, ranging from 1.19 USD (Yako) to 1.62 USD (Kombissiri). National costs, with international support, covered VA capsules and community health worker salaries. Community stakeholders incurred administrative and transportation/communication costs; regional and district-level stakeholders made small contributions. Caregivers in rural areas contributed significant amounts of time (∼20% of total program costs in some areas). Conclusions: The vast majority of Burkinabe children suffer from vitamin A inadequacy. JVA+ events can be generally effective in distributing twice-annual VAS, but are expensive and heavily reliant on international assistance, and are unsustainable. Young children were consistently under-reached, especially in urban areas. Costs to caregivers were high in rural areas. Evidence-based, area-specific changes in program design could increase coverage and efficiency.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Development and Validation of a Questionnaire to Assess Perceptions and Acceptance of Micronutrient-Fortified Bouillon Cubes in Northern Ghana

  Research Square · 2025-07-14

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Enhancing Cost-Efficiency and Effectiveness in USAID’s Food Aid Supply Chain Operations in Ethiopia

  INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics · 2025-08-11

  article

  This paper develops a data-driven optimization model of USAID/BHA’s food aid supply chain to evaluate the impact of advance demand information and commodity prepositioning strategies. Using historical data from Ethiopia and a rolling horizon solution approach, the study quantifies trade-offs between cost-efficiency and delivery performance under multiple operational scenarios.

  PublisherDOI

• Author response for "Advancing the use of evidence in bouillon fortification policy discussions: Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Senegal"

  2025-06-05

  peer-reviewSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Cost effectiveness of fortified bouillon in addressing Burkinabe children's vitamin A inadequacy: An economic optimization model

  Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025-02-01 · 4 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  Vitamin A dietary inadequacy remains a serious public health problem among young children 6-59 months of age in Burkina Faso. Planners face several interrelated challenges: Selecting concrete policy objectives regarding vitamin A inadequacy reductions, identifying cost-effective vitamin A intervention programs that can achieve those objectives, and being reasonably sure that proposed intervention programs are robust to uncertainty in program benefits and costs. A 10-year, subnational economic optimization model making use of secondary dietary intake data and program cost data was developed and implemented to address these issues and included the following vitamin A program options: existing or improved edible oils fortification, a pair of hypothetical vitamin A-fortified bouillon programs, and a set of subnational vitamin A supplementation (VAS) programs. The model consistently identified the improved edible oils and bouillon fortification programs as the core national programs upon which the more expensive subnational VAS programs could be layered, depending on policy objectives and available funding. These results were robust to uncertainty in program nutritional benefits and costs. However, even if the most impactful set of modeled programs was implemented, vitamin A inadequacy among children would remain a serious public health problem; hence, additional efforts to address it would be needed.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Cost-Effectiveness of Alternative Hypothetical Bouillon Fortification Programs: Modeled Evidence for Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Senegal

  Current Developments in Nutrition · 2025-05-01

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Consumption of Selected Healthy and Unhealthy Food Groups and Associations With Nutritional Status Among Children 2–5 Years of Age in Northern Ghana

  Maternal and Child Nutrition · 2025-11-18

  articleOpen access

  Poor diet quality may contribute to the multiple forms of malnutrition among children in Ghana. This cross-sectional study (1) described the prevalence and frequency of consumption of fruits, vegetables, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), salty snacks and sweet snacks among children 2-5 years in northern Ghana; (2) identified factors associated with consumption; and (3) examined relationships between consumption and nutritional status. Households were recruited from urban and rural clusters in Tolon and Kumbungu districts. Children's (2-5 years; n = 243) dietary data were collected using a questionnaire modelled after the WHO STEPS tool. We assessed children's height, weight, haemoglobin and micronutrient biomarker (n = 125) concentrations. We used multi-variable logistic and linear regression to identify individual, maternal and household factors predicting consumption of the food groups and relationships between consumption and nutritional status. In a typical week, most children consumed vegetables (98%), sweet snacks (81%) and fruits (76%); 50% consumed salty snacks and 46% consumed SSB. Average number of servings consumed weekly, mean (SD), was: 7.9 (7.3) vegetables, 2.9 (2.5) sweet snacks, 2.6 (3.9) SSB, 1.8 (1.7) fruits and 1.2 (1.7) salty snacks. Children in households with higher food insecurity were more likely to report consumption of all food groups (> 0 servings fruits, SSB, salty snacks and sweet snacks; ≥ 7 servings vegetables weekly), but other characteristics did not consistently predict consumption. Few associations were found between consumption and nutritional status. Interventions to increase fruit and vegetable intake to align with guidelines, while avoiding SSB and snack foods, are needed.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The cost‐efficiency of vitamin A supplementation services in Kenya: An assessment of a Malezi Bora event in Kenya

  Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025-02-01 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) remains a cornerstone of global child survival programs. As available funding declines, countries are seeking alternative delivery platforms. We examine a VAS-deworming delivery event in 2019 in Kenya, called Malezi Bora (MB), that employed four delivery platforms: health clinics, Early Childhood Development centers, community distribution points, and home visits. VAS coverage data were collected via household surveys in four subcounties, three of which received financial and technical assistance, and one of which received technical assistance only. Data on costs were collected using structured and semi-structured questionnaires. Only one subcounty achieved the targeted VAS coverage rate (80%) across most age subgroups; the subcounty not receiving financial assistance covered just 37% of children 6-59 months of age. Two other funded subcounties had higher coverage rates but failed to achieve 80% coverage for any age subgroup. Most children in the funded subcounties received VAS in their homes. Most children in the unfunded subcounty received VAS at a health facility. Being aware of MB was the most important factor associated with receiving VAS. Cost per child reached, including opportunity costs, varied across subcounties from $1.81 to $11.13 USD. Salaries were the main cost drivers.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• <i>A United Family Prospers</i> : Intrahousehold Economic Discord, Household Income and Child Growth in Burkina Faso

  The Journal of Development Studies · 2025-05-14

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Kathryn G. Dewey

  University of California, Davis

  94 shared

• Per Ashorn

  92 shared

• Anna Lartey

  University of Ghana

  62 shared

• Ulla Ashorn

  60 shared

• Kenneth Maleta

  56 shared

• Reina Engle‐Stone

  University of California, Davis

  55 shared

• Mamane Zeilani

  52 shared

• Katherine P. Adams

  48 shared

Education

• B.A.

  Whitman College

  1977

• M.S.

  University of Pennsylvania

  1981

• Ph.D.

  University of Pennsylvania

  1984