IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/27311.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Program Recertification Costs: Evidence from SNAP

Author

Listed:
  • Tatiana Homonoff
  • Jason Somerville

Abstract

Recipients of means-tested program benefits must periodically document continued eligibility through a recertification process. We find evidence that the administrative burden associated with SNAP recertification leads to decreases in program participation. Cases assigned to later recertification interview dates, which leave less time to reschedule missed interviews, are over 20 percent less likely to recertify than cases assigned to interviews earlier in the month. Cases that fail recertification due to later assignments lose an average of $600 in benefits in the following year. These losses are highly skewed: many cases quickly re-enroll, while one quarter remain off SNAP for over a year post-recertification.

Suggested Citation

  • Tatiana Homonoff & Jason Somerville, 2020. "Program Recertification Costs: Evidence from SNAP," NBER Working Papers 27311, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27311
    Note: EH PE
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w27311.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhuan Pei, 2017. "Eligibility Recertification and Dynamic Opt-In Incentives in Income-Tested Social Programs: Evidence from Medicaid/CHIP," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 241-276, February.
    2. Justine Hastings & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2018. "How Are SNAP Benefits Spent? Evidence from a Retail Panel," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(12), pages 3493-3540, December.
    3. Hoynes, Hilary Williamson & Schanzenbach, Diane Whitmore, 2012. "Work incentives and the Food Stamp Program," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 151-162.
    4. Manasi Deshpande & Yue Li, 2019. "Who Is Screened Out? Application Costs and the Targeting of Disability Programs," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 213-248, November.
    5. Karen Cunnyngham, "undated". "Reaching Those in Need: Estimates of State Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation Rates in 2016," Mathematica Policy Research Reports baac225d654d4ad7a1c347f49, Mathematica Policy Research.
    6. Raj Chetty & John N. Friedman & Emmanuel Saez, 2013. "Using Differences in Knowledge across Neighborhoods to Uncover the Impacts of the EITC on Earnings," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(7), pages 2683-2721, December.
    7. Rossin-Slater, Maya, 2013. "WIC in your neighborhood: New evidence on the impacts of geographic access to clinics," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 51-69.
    8. David C. Ribar & Marilyn Edelhoch & Qiduan Liu, 2008. "Watching the Clocks: The Role of Food Stamp Recertification and TANF Time Limits in Caseload Dynamics," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 43(1).
    9. Philip Armour, 2018. "The Role of Information in Disability Insurance Application: An Analysis of the Social Security Statement Phase-In," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 10(3), pages 1-41, August.
    10. 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.
    11. Saurabh Bhargava & Dayanand Manoli, 2015. "Psychological Frictions and the Incomplete Take-Up of Social Benefits: Evidence from an IRS Field Experiment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(11), pages 3489-3529, November.
    12. Amy Finkelstein & Matthew J Notowidigdo, 2019. "Take-Up and Targeting: Experimental Evidence from SNAP," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(3), pages 1505-1556.
    13. Benjamin L. Castleman & Lindsay C. Page, 2016. "Freshman Year Financial Aid Nudges: An Experiment to Increase FAFSA Renewal and College Persistence," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 51(2), pages 389-415.
    14. Shapiro, Jesse M., 2005. "Is there a daily discount rate? Evidence from the food stamp nutrition cycle," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(2-3), pages 303-325, February.
    15. Andrew Barr & Sarah Turner, 2018. "A Letter and Encouragement: Does Information Increase Postsecondary Enrollment of UI Recipients?," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 10(3), pages 42-68, August.
    16. Karen E. Cunnyngham, "undated". "Reaching Those in Need: State Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation Rates in 2010," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 53f19dadfd8c4b80ac3b6fd51, Mathematica Policy Research.
    17. Dan Lovallo & Colin Camerer, 1999. "Overconfidence and Excess Entry: An Experimental Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(1), pages 306-318, March.
    18. Dean Karlan & Margaret McConnell & Sendhil Mullainathan & Jonathan Zinman, 2016. "Getting to the Top of Mind: How Reminders Increase Saving," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(12), pages 3393-3411, December.
    19. Jillian B. Carr & Analisa Packham, 2019. "SNAP Benefits and Crime: Evidence from Changing Disbursement Schedules," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 101(2), pages 310-325, May.
    20. Karen E. Cunnyngham, "undated". "Reaching Those in Need: State Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation Rates in 2009," Mathematica Policy Research Reports f7c548f7481e44c598a7a4f6c, Mathematica Policy Research.
    21. Eric P. Bettinger & Bridget Terry Long & Philip Oreopoulos & Lisa Sanbonmatsu, 2012. "The Role of Application Assistance and Information in College Decisions: Results from the H&R Block Fafsa Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(3), pages 1205-1242.
    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. Gabrielle Pepin, 2022. "The effects of welfare time limits on access to financial resources: Evidence from the 2010s," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 88(4), pages 1343-1372, April.
    2. Manasi Deshpande & Lee M. Lockwood, 2022. "Beyond Health: Nonhealth Risk and the Value of Disability Insurance," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 90(4), pages 1781-1810, July.
    3. Colleen Heflin & Leslie Hodges & Irma Arteaga & Chinedum O. Ojinnaka, 2023. "Churn in the older adult SNAP population," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(1), pages 350-371, March.
    4. Tomás Monarrez & Lesley J. Turner, 2024. "The Effect of Student Loan Payment Burdens on Borrower Outcomes," Working Papers 24-08, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    5. Drake, Coleman & Anderson, David & Cai, Sih-Ting & Sacks, Daniel W., 2023. "Financial transaction costs reduce benefit take-up evidence from zero-premium health insurance plans in Colorado," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    6. Dodini, Samuel & Larrimore, Jeff & Tranfaglia, Anna, 2024. "Financial repercussions of SNAP work requirements," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    7. Colin Gray & Adam Leive & Elena Prager & Kelsey B. Pukelis & Mary Zaki, 2021. "Employed in a SNAP? The Impact of Work Requirements on Program Participation and Labor Supply," NBER Working Papers 28877, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Wu, Derek & Meyer, Bruce D., 2023. "Certification and Recertification in Welfare Programs: What Happens When Automation Goes Wrong?," IZA Discussion Papers 16294, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Schanzenbach, Diane Whitmore, 2023. "Understanding SNAP: An overview of recent research," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    10. Carolyn Barnes, 2023. "“I Can’t Get Ahold of Them†: Perceptions of Administrative Burden and Administrative Exclusion across SNAP, WIC, and Medicaid during the COVID-19 Pandemic," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 706(1), pages 118-136, March.
    11. Pamela Herd & Donald Moynihan, 2023. "Fewer Burdens but Greater Inequality? Reevaluating the Safety Net through the Lens of Administrative Burden," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 706(1), pages 94-117, March.
    12. Eric Bettinger & Oded Gurantz & Monica Lee & Bridget Terry Long, 2023. "“Prior-Prior Year” FAFSA Increased Aid Submissions but Likely not Enrollment," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 64(6), pages 789-807, September.
    13. Jordan W. Jones & Charles Courtemanche & Augustine Denteh & James Marton & Rusty Tchernis, 2022. "Do state Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program policies influence program participation among seniors?," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(2), pages 591-608, June.
    14. Aimee Chabot & Maximilian Hell, 2023. "Using Technology and Iterative Research to Strengthen the Social Safety Net," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 706(1), pages 256-275, March.

    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. Ha Trong Nguyen & Huong Thu Le & Luke B Connelly, 2021. "Who's declining the “free lunch”? New evidence from the uptake of public child dental benefits," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(2), pages 270-288, February.
    2. Wu, Derek & Meyer, Bruce D., 2023. "Certification and Recertification in Welfare Programs: What Happens When Automation Goes Wrong?," IZA Discussion Papers 16294, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Robert W. Hahn & Robert D. Metcalfe, 2021. "Efficiency and Equity Impacts of Energy Subsidies," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(5), pages 1658-1688, May.
    4. Philip Armour & Melanie A. Zaber, 2020. "Does Student Loan Forgiveness Drive Disability Application?," NBER Working Papers 26787, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Hervelin Jérémy, 2022. "Directing young dropouts via SMS: evidence from a field experiment," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, January.
    6. Marks, Mindy & Prina, Silvia & Tahaj, Redina, 2023. "Short-Term Labor Supply Response to the Timing of Transfer Payments: Evidence from the SNAP Program," IZA Discussion Papers 16299, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. C. Yiwei Zhang & Jeffrey Hemmeter & Judd B. Kessler & Robert D. Metcalfe & Robert Weathers, 2023. "Nudging Timely Wage Reporting: Field Experimental Evidence from the U.S. Supplemental Security Income Program," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(3), pages 1341-1353, March.
    8. Manasi Deshpande & Yue Li, 2019. "Who Is Screened Out? Application Costs and the Targeting of Disability Programs," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 213-248, November.
    9. Narayan, Ayushi, 2020. "Does simplifying the college financial aid process matter?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    10. Colin Gray, 2018. "Why Leave Benefits on the Table? Evidence from SNAP," Upjohn Working Papers 18-288, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    11. Jeehoon Han, 2020. "Snap Expansions And Participation In Government Safety Net Programs," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 58(4), pages 1929-1948, October.
    12. B. Boutchenik & R. Lardeux, 2020. "The Take-Up of Unemployment Benefit Extensions," Documents de Travail de l'Insee - INSEE Working Papers g2020-02, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques.
    13. Justin C. Ortagus & Melvin J. Tanner & Isaac McFarlin Jr., 2020. "Can Re-Enrollment Campaigns Help Dropouts Return to College? Evidence from Florida Community Colleges," NBER Working Papers 26649, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Tincani, Michela M. & Kosse, Fabian & Miglino, Enrico, 2022. "The Effect of Preferential Admissions on the College Participation of Disadvantaged Students: The Role of Pre-College Choices," IZA Discussion Papers 15633, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Goldin, Jacob & Homonoff, Tatiana & Javaid, Rizwan & Schafer, Brenda, 2022. "Tax filing and take-up: Experimental evidence on tax preparation outreach and benefit claiming," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    16. Colin Gray & Adam Leive & Elena Prager & Kelsey B. Pukelis & Mary Zaki, 2021. "Employed in a SNAP? The Impact of Work Requirements on Program Participation and Labor Supply," NBER Working Papers 28877, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Tuomas Matikka & Tuuli Paukkeri, 2022. "Does sending letters increase the take-up of social benefits? Evidence from a new benefit program," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(6), pages 3253-3287, December.
    18. Damgaard, Mette Trier & Nielsen, Helena Skyt, 2018. "Nudging in education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 313-342.
    19. Tincani, Michela M. & Kosse, Fabian & Miglino, Enrico, 2022. "The Effect of Preferential Admissions on the College Participation of Disadvantaged Students: The Role of Pre-College Choices," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 342, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    20. Walker, Brigham, 2023. "Price and saliency in health care: When can targeted nudges change behaviors?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 107(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

    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:nbr:nberwo:27311. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    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.