Working Paper: NBER ID: w26942
Authors: Martha J. Bailey; Hilary W. Hoynes; Maya Rossin-Slater; Reed Walker
Abstract: We use novel, large-scale data on 43 million Americans from the 2000 Census and the 2001 to 2013 American Communities Survey linked to the Social Security Administration’s NUMIDENT to study how a policy-driven increase in economic resources for families affects children’s long-term outcomes. Using variation from the county-level roll-out of the Food Stamps program between 1961 and 1975, we find that children with access to greater economic resources before age five experience an increase of 6 percent of a standard deviation in their adult human capital, 3 percent of a standard deviation in their adult economic self-sufficiency, 8 percent of a standard deviation in the quality of their adult neighborhoods, 0.4 percentage-point increase in longevity, and a 0.5 percentage-point decrease in likelihood of being incarcerated. Based on these estimates, we conclude that Food Stamps’ transfer of resources to families is a highly cost-effective investment into young children, yielding a marginal value of public funds of approximately 56.
Keywords: Food Stamps; Social Safety Net; Childhood Outcomes; Long-Term Investment
JEL Codes: H53; I38
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Food Stamps availability (I38) | adult human capital (J24) |
| Food Stamps availability (I38) | economic self-sufficiency (H53) |
| Food Stamps availability (I38) | neighborhood quality (R23) |
| Food Stamps availability (I38) | longevity (C41) |
| Food Stamps availability (I38) | incarceration likelihood (K14) |
| early childhood exposure to Food Stamps (I38) | adult outcomes (I26) |
| Food Stamps availability (I38) | marginal value of public funds (H40) |
| exposure in utero and first five years of life (J13) | adult outcomes (I26) |