IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/socsci/v103y2022i4p868-882.html

Decisions that matter: State Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program policy restrictiveness limits SNAP participation rate

Author

Listed:
  • Kara Newby
  • Xi Chen

Abstract

Objective The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) offers free benefits to qualifying individuals, but participation varies greatly from state to state. We explore the impact of SNAP administration policies, political factors, and socio‐demographic characteristics to explain this variation. Method We utilize a policy index that aggregates the effect of 10 SNAP administrative policies to evaluate the effects of policies over time on state SNAP participation rates. Results Less restrictive administrative policies are associated with increases in SNAP participation. Additionally, the unified Democratic control of state government, poverty, and unemployment all increase SNAP participation. Conclusion Differences in SNAP state participation rates are not spurious. More restrictive administrative policies lower participation. Thus, SNAP policies are not purely “administrative” decisions; they can either work to encourage or discourage participation in the program.

Suggested Citation

  • Kara Newby & Xi Chen, 2022. "Decisions that matter: State Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program policy restrictiveness limits SNAP participation rate," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 103(4), pages 868-882, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:103:y:2022:i:4:p:868-882
    DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.13158
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13158
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ssqu.13158?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maria J. Hanratty, 2006. "Has the Food Stamp program become more accessible? Impacts of recent changes in reporting requirements and asset eligibility limits," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(3), pages 603-621.
    2. Mabli, James & Martin, Emily Sama & Castner, Laura, 2009. "Effects of Economic Conditions and Program Policy on State Food Stamp Program Caseloads, 2000 to 2006," Contractor and Cooperator Reports 292076, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. Hanson, Kenneth & Gundersen, Craig, "undated". "Issues In Food Assistance - How Unemployment Affects The Food Stamp Program," Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Reports 262257, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    4. repec:mpr:mprres:2135 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. repec:mpr:mprres:6321 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Michael Ponza & James C. Ohls & Lorenzo Moreno & Amy Zambrowski & Rhoda Cohen, 1999. "Customer Service in the Food Stamp Program," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 19806d533df943278178d9cf1, Mathematica Policy Research.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Suttles, Shellye & Babb, Angela & Knudsen, Daniel C., 2024. "Submitted and Denied: Understanding variation in case status across Supplemental Nutrition assistance program (SNAP) applications," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Erik Scherpf & Benjamin Cerf, 2019. "Local Labor Demand and Program Participation Dynamics: Evidence from New York SNAP Administrative Records," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(2), pages 394-425, March.
    2. Hanson, Kenneth & Oliveira, Victor, 2012. "How Economic Conditions Affect Participation in USDA Nutrition Assistance Programs," Economic Information Bulletin 134682, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. Oral Capps Jr., 2022. "Dynamics of macroeconomic factor effects on food assistance program participation in the United States," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(6), pages 1-34, June.
    4. Pourya Valizadeh & Bart L. Fischer & Henry L. Bryant, 2024. "SNAP enrollment cycles: New insights from heterogeneous panel models with cross‐sectional dependence," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 106(1), pages 354-381, January.
    5. Peter Ganong & Jeffrey B. Liebman, 2018. "The Decline, Rebound, and Further Rise in SNAP Enrollment: Disentangling Business Cycle Fluctuations and Policy Changes," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 10(4), pages 153-176, November.
    6. Pender, John & Jo, Young & Miller, Cristina, "undated". "Economic Impacts of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Payments in Nonmetro vs. Metro Counties," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205626, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Brizmohun, Roshini & Duffy, Patricia A., 2016. "Do Personal Attitudes about Welfare Influence Food Stamp Participation?," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235698, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Gundersen, Craig & Jolliffe, Dean & Tiehen, Laura, 2009. "The challenge of program evaluation: When increasing program participation decreases the relative well-being of participants," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 367-376, August.
    9. Karen S Hamrick & Margaret Andrews, 2016. "SNAP Participants’ Eating Patterns over the Benefit Month: A Time Use Perspective," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(7), pages 1-18, July.
    10. Janet Currie, 2003. "US Food and Nutrition Programs," NBER Chapters, in: Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, pages 199-290, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Weerasooriya, Senal A. & Reimer, Jeffrey J., 2016. "Effects of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Rural and Urban Areas in Oregon," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235751, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    12. Nord, Mark & Prell, Mark, "undated". "Food Security Improved Following the 2009 ARRA Increase in SNAP Benefits," Economic Research Report 262242, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    13. Burstein, Nancy R. & Patrabansh, Satyendra & Hamilton, William L. & Siegel, Sarah Y., 2009. "Understanding the Determinants of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation," USDA Miscellaneous 339044, United States Department of Agriculture.
    14. Neeraj Kaushal & Qin Gao, 2011. "Food Stamp Program and Consumption Choices," NBER Chapters, in: Economic Aspects of Obesity, pages 223-247, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Vogel, Stephen & Miller, Cristina & Ralston, Katherine, "undated". "Impact of USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on Rural and Urban Economies in the Aftermath of the Great Recession," USDA Miscellaneous 314934, United States Department of Agriculture.
    16. Stacy, Brian & Tiehen, Laura & Marquardt, David, 2018. "Using a Policy Index To Capture Trends and Differences in State Administration of USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," Economic Research Report 276250, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    17. Paul A. Lewin & Bruce A. Weber, 2020. "Distributional impacts of food assistance: How SNAP payments to the rural poor affect incomes in the urban core," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(5), pages 1281-1300, October.
    18. Wu, Chi-Fang & Eamon, Mary Keegan, 2010. "Does receipt of public benefits reduce material hardship in low-income families with children?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(10), pages 1262-1270, October.
    19. Burstein, Nancy R. & Hamilton, William L. & Fox, Mary Kay & Price, Cristofer & Battaglia, Michael P., 2005. "Assessing the Food Security and Diet Quality Impacts of FNS Program Participation: Final Report," USDA Miscellaneous 344961, United States Department of Agriculture.
    20. Danielson, Caroline & Klerman, Jacob Alex & Mejia, Marisol Cuellar, 2013. "Does the Economy Explain the Explosion in the SNAP Caseload?," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 150558, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:103:y:2022:i:4:p:868-882. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0038-4941 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.