ECIN Replication Package for "Purchases Over the SNAP Benefit Cycle: Evidence from Supermarket Panel Data"

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Katherine Harris-Lagoudakis, Iowa State University; Hannah Wich, Stephen F. Austin State University

Version: View help for Version V2

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
Code			05/17/2024 12:13:PM
Data			05/17/2024 12:10:PM
README.docx	application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document	1.6 MB	05/17/2024 10:22:AM

Project Citation:

Harris-Lagoudakis, Katherine, and Wich, Hannah. ECIN Replication Package for “Purchases Over the SNAP Benefit Cycle: Evidence from Supermarket Panel Data.” Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-05-17. https://doi.org/10.3886/E199443V2

Project Description

Summary: This paper investigates the effect of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP) benefit disbursement on intra monthly household level purchases made from a supermarket retailer. Using variation in the timing of benefit receipt, we find that spending and the likelihood of shopping increase by $2 and 1.5 percentage points, respectively, on the day that SNAP benefits are disbursed. We also find that the bulk(national brand) expenditure share increases by 2 (0.6) percentage points on the day of benefit receipt. We find little evidence for cyclicality in the healthfulness of food purchases.Finally, we compare and contrast estimates that use variation in the indicator for benefit receipt (benefit receipt estimates) to estimates that utilize variation in the probability of SNAP benefit receipt (likelihood of benefit receipt estimates). We find that the likelihood of benefit receipt estimates are statistically distinguishable from and 2.1 to 2.8 times larger than the benefit receipt estimates for the outcome of spending.We decompose these differences and provide guidance to researchers in the event that only the likelihood of benefit receipt is known.

Funding Sources: USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hatch Project (IOW04099)

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

Manuscript Number: ECIN-Dec-2022-0550.R2

Time Period(s): 3/13/2013 – 10/17/2017 (Spring 2013 to Fall 2017)

Universe: 20 thousand SNAP households that shop with a retailer using SNAP benefits as a form of payment

Data Type(s): other

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Published Versions

V2 [2024-05-17]

V1 [2024-04-02]

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