IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/uersrr/276253.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Design Issues in USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Looking Ahead by Looking Back

Author

Listed:
  • Oliveira, Victor
  • Prell, Mark
  • Tiehen, Laura
  • Smallwood, David

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—formerly, the Food Stamp Program—provides low-income participants with electronic benefits that are used like debit cards to purchase eligible food items in authorized retail food stores. Over the program’s long history, policymakers have implemented numerous changes in program design in response to the political, economic, and budgetary environment. Even though SNAP is a mature program, a number of issues continue to arise, such as whether to change SNAP to a block grant program, what types of foods program benefits should cover, and whether benefit amounts and program accessibility are adequate. This report examines the evolution of SNAP—highlighting the effects on the program of major policy and economic changes—to shed light on why the program takes its current form. The report also examines several current issues—each of which has been raised multiple times in the past—and identifies tradeoffs between various program design features. By providing historical and analytical perspective on major program design issues, this report looks ahead by looking back.

Suggested Citation

  • Oliveira, Victor & Prell, Mark & Tiehen, Laura & Smallwood, David, 2018. "Design Issues in USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Looking Ahead by Looking Back," Economic Research Report 276253, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uersrr:276253
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.276253
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/276253/files/ERR-243.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.276253?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. Longen, Kathryn A. & Claffey, Barbara A., 1981. "An Alternative Approach to Food Assistance: Categorical Grants," Miscellaneous Publications 330145, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    2. Hanson, Kenneth & Oliveira, Victor, 2007. "The 2005 Gulf Coast Hurricanes' Effect On Food Stamp Program Caseloads And Benefits Issued," Economic Research Report 7259, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. Guthrie, Joanne F. & Variyam, Jayachandran N., 2007. "Can Food Stamps Do More to Improve Food Choices? An Economic Perspective-Nutrition Information: Can It Improve the Diets of Low-Income Households?," Economic Information Bulletin 59434, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    4. Tiehen, Laura & Jolliffe, Dean & Gundersen, Craig, 2012. "Alleviating Poverty in the United States: The Critical Role of SNAP Benefits," Economic Research Report 262233, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    5. Leibtag, Ephraim S., 2007. "Can Food Stamps Do More to Improve Food Choices? An Economic Perspective-Stretching the Food Stamp Dollar: Regional Price Differences Affect Affordability of Food," Economic Information Bulletin 59428, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    6. Kelsey Farson Gray & Karen Cunnyngham, "undated". "Trends in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation Rates: Fiscal Year 2010 to Fiscal Year 2014 (Summary)," Mathematica Policy Research Reports affdff7f3d5b4b31af519e764, Mathematica Policy Research.
    7. Reese, Robert B. & Feaster, J. Gerald & Perkins, Garey B., 1974. "Bonus Food Stamps and Cash Income Supplements Their Effectiveness in Expanding Demand for Food," Marketing Research Reports 313767, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Transportation and Marketing Program.
    8. Kathryn Cronquist & Sarah Lauffer, "undated". "Characteristics of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2017," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 9ceac00f7e0f49ef85d3cc7eb, Mathematica Policy Research.
    9. Ron Haskins, 2016. "Tanf At Age 20: Work Still Works," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(1), pages 224-231, January.
    10. Besley, Timothy & Coate, Stephen, 1992. "Workfare versus Welfare Incentive Arguments for Work Requirements in Poverty-Alleviation Programs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(1), pages 249-261, March.
    11. Carlson, Andrea & Lino, Mark & Juan, WenYen & Hanson, Kenneth & Basiotis, P. Peter, 2007. "Thrifty Food Plan, 2006," CNPP Reports 42899, United States Department of Agriculture, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.
    12. Nord, Mark, 2013. "Effects of the Decline in the Real Value of SNAP Benefits From 2009 to 2011," Economic Research Report 155384, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    13. repec:mpr:mprres:7859 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Nord, Mark & Prell, Mark, 2011. "Food Security Improved Following the 2009 ARRA Increase in SNAP Benefits," Economic Research Report 262242, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    15. Hanson, Kenneth & Golan, Elise, 2002. "Issues In Food Assistance - Effects Of Changes In Food Stamp Expenditures Across The U.S. Economy," Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Reports 262260, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    16. Dimitri, Carolyn & Oberholtzer, Lydia & Zive, Michelle & Sandolo, Cristina, 2015. "Enhancing food security of low-income consumers: An investigation of financial incentives for use at farmers markets," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 64-70.
    17. Joshua Leftin, "undated". "Trends in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation Rates: 2001-2008 (Summary)," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 6dabd9a6fb4b45ff98dc9f856, Mathematica Policy Research.
    18. Isaacs, Julia, 2008. "The Costs of Benefit Delivery in the Food Stamp Program: Lessons From a Cross-Program Analysis," Contractor and Cooperator Reports 292014, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    19. 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.
    20. repec:mpr:mprres:6734 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Timothy K.M. Beatty & Charlotte J. Tuttle, 2015. "Expenditure Response to Increases in In-Kind Transfers: Evidence from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 97(2), pages 390-404.
    22. repec:mpr:mprres:8081 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Congressional Budget Office, 2012. "The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," Reports 43173, Congressional Budget Office.
    24. repec:mpr:mprres:7124 is not listed on IDEAS
    25. Kelsey Farson Gray & Sarah Fisher & Sarah Lauffer, "undated". "Characteristics of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2015 (Summary)," Mathematica Policy Research Reports efbfd0cb3ae84308af13e156d, Mathematica Policy Research.
    26. Tuttle, Charlotte, 2016. "Changes in Food-At-Home Spending by SNAP Participants After the Stimulus Act of 2009," Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, issue 11, pages 1-1, December.
    27. repec:mpr:mprres:7860 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. Robert Plotnick, 1985. "A Comparison of Measures of Horizontal Inequity," NBER Chapters, in: Horizontal Equity, Uncertainty, and Economic Well-Being, pages 239-268, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    29. Congressional Budget Office, 2012. "The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," Reports 43173, Congressional Budget Office.
    30. repec:mpr:mprres:8034 is not listed on IDEAS
    31. repec:mpr:mprres:6735 is not listed on IDEAS
    32. Thomas M. Fraker & Alberto P. Martini & James C. Ohls, 1995. "The Effect of Food Stamp Cashout on Food Expenditures: An Assessment of the Findings from Four Demonstrations," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 30(4), pages 633-649.
    33. Hanson, Kenneth & Andrews, Margaret S., 2008. "Rising Food Prices Take a Bite Out of Food Stamp Benefits," Economic Information Bulletin 58624, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    34. Hanson, Kenneth & Andrews, Margaret S., 2009. "State Variations in the Food Stamp Benefit Reduction Rate for Earnings: Cross-Program Effects from TANF and SSI Cash Assistance," Economic Information Bulletin 58315, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    35. Kelsey Farson Gray & Sarah Fisher & Sarah Lauffer, "undated". "Characteristics of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2015," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 2c7be33ac568449b94d1a5605, Mathematica Policy Research.
    36. Tuttle, Charlotte, 2016. "The Stimulus Act of 2009 and Its Effect on Food-At-Home Spending by SNAP Participants," Economic Research Report 262193, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    37. Hanson, Kenneth, 2010. "The Food Assistance National Input-Output Multiplier (FANIOM) Model and Stimulus Effects of SNAP," Economic Research Report 262247, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    38. Hanson, Kenneth & Oliveira, Victor, 2012. "How Economic Conditions Affect Participation in USDA Nutrition Assistance Programs," Economic Information Bulletin 134682, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    39. 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.
    40. repec:mpr:mprres:8036 is not listed on IDEAS
    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. Yuyao Huang & Alison Tovar & John Taylor & Maya Vadiveloo, 2019. "Staple Food Item Availability among Small Retailers in Providence, RI," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-23, March.
    2. Katare, Bhagyashree & Binkley, James K. & Chen, Kaiyan, 2021. "Nutrition and diet quality of food at home by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) status," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    3. Stacy, Brian & Tiehen, Laura & Marquardt, David, 2018. "Using a Policy Index To Capture Trends and Differences in State Administration of USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," Economic Research Report 276250, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    4. Andrew Burwick & Diane Paulsell, "undated". "Nutrition Supports for Families with Young Children: An Equity-Focused Policy Research Agenda," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 2fd46f76aaca4aa6a9e127f13, Mathematica Policy Research.
    5. Elina T Page & Elizabeth Larimore & John A Kirlin & Mark Denbaly, 2019. "The National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey: Innovations and Research Insights," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(2), pages 215-234, June.
    6. Leanne Giordono & David W. Rothwell & Stephanie Grutzmacher & Mark Edwards, 2022. "Understanding SNAP use patterns among older adults," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(2), pages 609-634, June.
    7. Leschewski, Andrea M. & Weatherspoon, Dave D., 2018. "The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Current Restricted Expenditures," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 273846, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

    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. 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.
    2. Hudak, Katelin M. & Racine, Elizabeth F., 2021. "Do additional SNAP benefits matter for child weight?: Evidence from the 2009 benefit increase," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    3. Almada, Lorenzo N. & Tchernis, Rusty, 2018. "Measuring effects of SNAP on obesity at the intensive margin," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 150-163.
    4. Agustina Laurito & Amy Ellen Schwartz, 2019. "Does School Lunch Fill the “SNAP Gap” at the End of the Month?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(1), pages 49-82, July.
    5. Parolin, Zachary & Luigjes, Christiaan, 2019. "Incentive to Retrench? Investigating the Interactions of State and Federal Social Assistance Programs after Welfare Reform," OSF Preprints s5fwr, Center for Open Science.
    6. Valizadeh, Pourya & Smith, Travis A., 2017. "How Did the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Impact the Material Well-being of SNAP Participants? A Distributional Approach," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258496, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Kelsey Farson Gray & Karen Cunnyngham, "undated". "Trends in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation Rates: Fiscal Year 2010 to Fiscal Year 2015," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 83167c08faee4195ab0168e9f, Mathematica Policy Research.
    8. Alma Vigil, "undated". "Trends in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation Rates: Fiscal Year 2010 to Fiscal Year 2017," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 022652bf692a4c83b1f9ad87a, Mathematica Policy Research.
    9. Vogel, Stephen & Miller, Cristina & Ralston, Katherine, 2021. "Impact of USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on Rural and Urban Economies in the Aftermath of the Great Recession," Economic Research Report 327185, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    10. Karen Cunnyngham, "undated". "Trends in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation Rates: Fiscal Year 2010 to Fiscal Year 2016," Mathematica Policy Research Reports bf3e67b505f642ee9a8bfeff4, Mathematica Policy Research.
    11. 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.
    12. Yanliang Yang & George C Davis & Wen You, 2019. "Measuring Food Expenditure Poverty in SNAP Populations: Some Extensions with an Application to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(1), pages 133-152, March.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. Jacob Alex Klerman & Anne Wolf & Ann Collins & Stephen Bell & Ronette Briefel, 2017. "The Effects the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children Demonstration has on Children’s Food Security," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 39(3), pages 516-532.
    17. Leschewski, Andrea M. & Weatherspoon, Dave D., 2017. "SNAP Household Food Expenditures Using Non-SNAP Payment Methods," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 259139, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    18. Dean Jolliffe & Juan Margitic & Martin Ravallion & Laura Tiehen, 2024. "Food stamps and America's poorest," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 106(4), pages 1380-1409, August.
    19. Tuttle, Charlotte, 2016. "The Stimulus Act of 2009 and Its Effect on Food-At-Home Spending by SNAP Participants," Economic Research Report 262193, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    20. Geetha M. Waehrer, 2023. "Age differences in expenditure responses to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(1), pages 372-391, March.

    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:ags:uersrr:276253. 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: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ersgvus.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.