IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/apecpp/v46y2024i4p1268-1285.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does the reference period matter when evaluating the effect of SNAP on food insecurity?

Author

Listed:
  • Colleen Heflin
  • James P. Ziliak

Abstract

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the cornerstone food assistance program in the United States and has been shown to reduce the risk of food insecurity. Most research on the causal effect of SNAP on food insecurity relies on the 12‐month food insecurity scale along with usage of SNAP at any point during the year. However, recent social surveys ask about experiences with food insecurity in the 30 days prior to the survey. In this paper, we examine whether similar protective effects of SNAP against food insecurity are obtained whether using the 30‐day or 12‐month food insecurity scale using the December Supplement of the Current Population Survey for 2002–2019. Results indicate comparable average treatment effects of SNAP in mitigating food insecurity across both 30‐day and 12‐month reference periods.

Suggested Citation

  • Colleen Heflin & James P. Ziliak, 2024. "Does the reference period matter when evaluating the effect of SNAP on food insecurity?," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(4), pages 1268-1285, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:apecpp:v:46:y:2024:i:4:p:1268-1285
    DOI: 10.1002/aepp.13420
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13420
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/aepp.13420?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. Robert Paul Hartley & Carlos Lamarche & James P. Ziliak, 2022. "Welfare Reform and the Intergenerational Transmission of Dependence," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 130(3), pages 523-565.
    2. Todd, Jessica E. & Gregory, Christian, 2018. "Changes in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program real benefits and daily caloric intake among adults," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 111-120.
    3. Charles Courtemanche & Augustine Denteh & Rusty Tchernis, 2019. "Estimating the Associations between SNAP and Food Insecurity, Obesity, and Food Purchases with Imperfect Administrative Measures of Participation," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(1), pages 202-228, July.
    4. Nguimkeu, Pierre & Denteh, Augustine & Tchernis, Rusty, 2019. "On the estimation of treatment effects with endogenous misreporting," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 208(2), pages 487-506.
    5. Craig Gundersen & Victor Oliveira, 2001. "The Food Stamp Program and Food Insufficiency," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 83(4), pages 875-887.
    6. Heckman, James J, 1978. "Dummy Endogenous Variables in a Simultaneous Equation System," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(4), pages 931-959, July.
    7. Chad D. Meyerhoefer & Muzhe Yang, 2011. "The Relationship between Food Assistance and Health: A Review of the Literature and Empirical Strategies for Identifying Program Effects," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 33(3), pages 304-344.
    8. Steven T. Yen & Margaret Andrews & Zhuo Chen & David B. Eastwood, 2008. "Food Stamp Program Participation and Food Insecurity: An Instrumental Variables Approach," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 90(1), pages 117-132.
    9. Nader S. Kabbani & Myra Yazbeck Kmeid, 2005. "The Role of Food Assistance in Helping Food Insecure Households Escape Hunger ," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 27(3), pages 439-445.
    10. Colleen M. Heflin & James P. Ziliak, 2008. "Food Insufficiency, Food Stamp Participation, and Mental Health," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 89(3), pages 706-727, September.
    11. Wilde, Joachim, 2000. "Identification of multiple equation probit models with endogenous dummy regressors," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 309-312, December.
    12. Carrillo, Paul E. & Early, Dirk W. & Olsen, Edgar O., 2014. "A panel of interarea price indices for all areas in the United States 1982–2012," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 81-93.
    13. Jessica E. Todd, 2015. "Revisiting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cycle of food intake: Investigating heterogeneity, diet quality, and a large boost in benefit amounts," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 37(3), pages 437-458.
    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. Parke E. Wilde & Irma Arteaga, 2024. "Household food security responses for SNAP participants and nonparticipants," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(4), pages 1338-1354, December.

    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. Irma Arteaga & Colleen Heflin & Leslie Hodges, 2018. "SNAP Benefits and Pregnancy-Related Emergency Room Visits," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 37(6), pages 1031-1052, December.
    2. Helen H. Jensen & Brent Kreider & Oleksandr Zhylyevskyy, 2019. "Investigating Treatment Effects of Participating Jointly in SNAP and WIC when the Treatment Is Validated Only for SNAP," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(1), pages 124-155, July.
    3. Swann, Christopher A., 2017. "Household history, SNAP participation, and food insecurity," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 1-9.
    4. Celhay, Pablo & Meyer, Bruce D. & Mittag, Nikolas, 2024. "What leads to measurement errors? Evidence from reports of program participation in three surveys," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 238(2).
    5. Dharmasena, Senarath & Bessler, David A. & Capps, Oral, 2016. "Food environment in the United States as a complex economic system," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 163-175.
    6. Wang, Julia Shu-Huah & Zhao, Xi & Nam, Jaehyun, 2021. "The effects of welfare participation on parenting stress and parental engagement using an instrumental variables approach: Evidence from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    7. Bonanno, Alessandro & Ghosh, Gaurav S., 2010. "SNAP Efficacy and Food Access – A Nationwide Spatial Analysis," 115th Joint EAAE/AAEA Seminar, September 15-17, 2010, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany 116437, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Marianne P. Bitler & Christian Gregory, 2019. "Food Access, Program Participation, and Health: Research Using FoodAPS," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(1), pages 9-17, July.
    9. Jinglin Feng & Linlin Fan & Edward C. Jaenicke, 2024. "The distributional impact of SNAP on dietary quality," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 55(1), pages 104-139, January.
    10. Matthew P. Rabbitt, 2013. "Measuring the Effect of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation on Food Insecurity Using a Behavioral Rasch Selection Model," UNCG Economics Working Papers 13-20, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics.
    11. John S. Heywood & W.S. Siebert & Xiangdong Wei, 2011. "Estimating the Use of Agency Workers: Can Family-Friendly Practices Reduce Their Use?," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 535-564, July.
    12. Dasgupta, Susmita & Meisner, Craig & Mamingi, Nlandu, 2005. "Pesticide traders'perception of health risks : evidence from Bangladesh," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3777, The World Bank.
    13. Charles Courtemanche & Augustine Denteh & Rusty Tchernis, 2019. "Estimating the Associations between SNAP and Food Insecurity, Obesity, and Food Purchases with Imperfect Administrative Measures of Participation," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(1), pages 202-228, July.
    14. Ranney, Christine K. & Gomez, Miguel I., 2010. "Food Stamps, Food Insufficiency and Health of the Elderly," Working Papers 126968, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    15. Gregory, Christian & Deb, Partha, 2016. "Who Benefits Most from SNAP?," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236648, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    16. Di Novi, Cinzia & Martini, Gianmaria & Sturaro, Caterina, 2023. "The impact of informal and formal care disruption on older adults’ psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in UK," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    17. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Nord, Mark, 2013. "Food Insecurity Among Households With Working-Age Adults With Disabilities," Economic Research Report 142955, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    18. Philip Gleason & Rebecca Kleinman & Gregory Chojnacki & Sarah Forrestal & Nicholas Redel & Breanna Wakar & Ronette Briefel, "undated". "Evaluation of Demonstration Projects to End Childhood Hunger (EDECH): The Nevada Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Project," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 7a171f0e1b1c484aa5d64ea1e, Mathematica Policy Research.
    19. Salois, Matthew & Balcombe, Kelvin, 2011. "Do Food Stamps Cause Obesity? A Generalised Bayesian Instrumental Variable Approach in the Presence of Heteroscedasticity," MPRA Paper 28745, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Elton Mykerezi & Bradford Mills, 2010. "The Impact of Food Stamp Program Participation on Household Food Insecurity," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 92(5), pages 1379-1391.

    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:wly:apecpp:v:46:y:2024:i:4:p:1268-1285. 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: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)2040-5804 .

    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.