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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
How Well Does Snap Protect Families Against The Risk Of Food Insecurity And Poor Health During Economic Downturns?, Thomas Deleire, Bradley Hardy, Jay Bhattacharya
How Well Does Snap Protect Families Against The Risk Of Food Insecurity And Poor Health During Economic Downturns?, Thomas Deleire, Bradley Hardy, Jay Bhattacharya
University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series
Our research project addressed the question of how well SNAP and the social safety net protects families against the risk of food insecurity and poor health during economic downturns. Previous research has documented the relationship between reductions in family incomes and food insufficiency and has examined the effects of resources that mitigate the effects of income volatility. The U.S. social safety net, including SNAP, exists to mitigate the deleterious effects of swings in family income, particularly among low- and moderate-income households. This work compares outcomes for lower income families and higher income families in response to economic downturns. To the …
Using Natural Experiments To Identify The Effects Of Snap On Child And Adult Health, Daniel P. Miller, Taryn W. Morrissey
Using Natural Experiments To Identify The Effects Of Snap On Child And Adult Health, Daniel P. Miller, Taryn W. Morrissey
University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; formerly known as food stamps) can have important impacts that extend beyond its intended aims to improve food security and nutrition, particularly for health and health care use. This project examined the impact of SNAP receipt and benefit level on the health of adults and children using two natural experiments to address selection bias: 1) state policy variation in SNAP in an instrumental variables (IV) analysis; and, 2) the temporary expansion of SNAP benefits and eligibility provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in a difference-in-difference (DD) approach. We used restricted data …
Child Age And Gender Differences In Food Security In A Low-Income Inner-City Population, Robert A. Moffitt, David C. Ribar
Child Age And Gender Differences In Food Security In A Low-Income Inner-City Population, Robert A. Moffitt, David C. Ribar
University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series
A long literature in economics concerns itself with differential allocations of resources to different children within the family unit. In a study of approximately 1,500 very disadvantaged families with children in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio from 1999 to 2005, significant differences in levels of food allocation, as measured by an indicator of food “insecurity,” are found across children of different ages and genders. Using answers to unique survey questions for a specific child in the family, food insecurity levels are found to be much higher among older boys and girls than among younger ones, and to be sometimes higher …
Impact Of Food Insecurity And Snap Participation On Healthcare Utilization And Expenditures, Seth A. Berkowitz, Hilary K. Seligman, Sanjay Basu
Impact Of Food Insecurity And Snap Participation On Healthcare Utilization And Expenditures, Seth A. Berkowitz, Hilary K. Seligman, Sanjay Basu
University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series
We tested three hypothesis related to food insecurity and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), America’s largest anti-food insecurity program. We hypothesized that 1)food insecurity would be associated with increased healthcare expenditures, 2)food insecurity would be associated with increased use of emergency department and inpatient services, and 3) SNAP participation would be associated with lower subsequent healthcare expenditures. We used data from the 2011 National Health Interview Survey linked to the 2012-13 Medical Expenditures Panel Survey. We used zero-inflated negative binomial regression to test the relationship between food insecurity and healthcare cost and use. We evaluated the association between SNAP …
The Real Value Of Snap Benefits And Health Outcomes, Hilary W. Hoynes, Erin Bronchetti, Garret Christensen
The Real Value Of Snap Benefits And Health Outcomes, Hilary W. Hoynes, Erin Bronchetti, Garret Christensen
University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series
The food stamp program (SNAP) is one of the most important elements of the social safety net and is the second largest anti-poverty program for children in the U.S. (only the EITC raises more children above poverty). The program varies little across states and over time, which creates challenges for quasi-experimental evaluation. Notably, SNAP benefit levels are fixed across 48 states; but local food prices vary widely, leading to substantial variation in the real value of SNAP benefits. In this study, we leverage time variation in the real value of the SNAP benefit across markets to examine the effects of …