Does enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) encourage families to purchase healthier foods and thereby increase the nutrition of those families enrolled in the program?
To answer this central question, this study will use an event-study design coupled with new, high-scale commercial transaction data from a grocery retailer to provide precise evidence on the effect of SNAP receipt on the amount and composition of food purchases. The study will generate evidence on the effects of SNAP enrollment from early childhood through adulthood.
Related Evidence
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Published June 17, 2019View Evidence
Researchers at Brown University released a working paper analyzing the effects of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on nutritional quality of purchased foods. Examining seven years of transaction records at a large U.S. grocery chain, the team found that SNAP participation had only a small effect on the nutritional quality of purchased foods.
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Published December 15, 2018View Evidence
Justine Hastings and Jesse M. Shapiro of Brown University released a paper in the American Economic Review analyzing the effects of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on household spending, finding that every hundred dollars in SNAP benefits leads to between $50 and $60 of additional food spending each month.
Updates
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Published November 19, 2018View Post
Studying the effect of SNAP requires both high-quality data on household food purchases or diet, and a valid strategy for separating the effect of SNAP from other influences on household spending. To circumvent some of these challenges, Jesse Shapiro and Justine Hastings obtained and analyzed large-scale retail data that follows grocery store shoppers over nearly seven years.
Related Projects
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Children and FamiliesHow WIC Authorization Influences Sales of Healthy Food and Beverages in Discount Variety Stores
October 1, 2017
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Children and FamiliesMultigenerational Effects of Early Life Health and Nutrition Investments
October 1, 2017
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