Working Paper: NBER ID: w24762
Authors: Erin T. Bronchetti; Garret S. Christensen; Hilary W. Hoynes
Abstract: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) is one of the most important elements of the social safety net. Unlike most other safety net programs, SNAP varies little across states and over time, which creates challenges for quasi-experimental evaluation. Notably, SNAP benefits are fixed across 48 states; but local food prices vary, leading to geographic variation in the real value – or purchasing power – of SNAP benefits. In this study, we provide the first estimates that leverage variation in SNAP purchasing power across markets to examine effects of SNAP on child health. We link panel data on regional food prices to National Health Interview Survey data and use a fixed effects framework to estimate the relationship between local purchasing power of SNAP and children’s health and health care utilization. We find that lower SNAP purchasing power leads to lower utilization of preventive health care and more days of school missed due to illness. We find no effect on reported health status.
Keywords: SNAP; child health; food prices; health care utilization
JEL Codes: H53; I12; I38
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| SNAP purchasing power (H53) | utilization of preventive health care services (I19) |
| 10% increase in SNAP purchasing power (H53) | likelihood of a child having an annual checkup (J13) |
| 10% increase in SNAP purchasing power (H53) | likelihood of any doctor visit (I11) |
| 10% decrease in SNAP purchasing power (H53) | school days missed due to illness (I12) |
| SNAP purchasing power (H53) | health outcomes (I14) |