Research

Works in Progress

SNAP Work Requirements, Enrollment, and Labor

Able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) are subject to more stringent work requirements to receive SNAP than any other population. ABAWDs generally must work 80 hours per month to receive SNAP for more than three months unless they are exempted. Using variation at the county-level in ABAWD work requirement waivers, I estimate the effect of work requirements on ABAWD SNAP enrollment and labor market outcomes using administrative data. Using a difference-in-difference design and border pairs in Virginia I am able to robustly estimate negative effects of work requirements on ABAWD SNAP enrollment. Then using linked earnings data I investigate the effect of work requirements on ABAWDs who do and do not remain on SNAP and examine heterogeneity by individual demographics and previous attachment to the labor market. OBBBA 2025 expands these work requirements to cover a larger population, I am able to contribute a policy-relevant analysis that speaks to potential effects of the new law.

The Transition to EBT and WIC Participation

with Marianne Bitler, Jason Cook, and Seojung Oh

Publications

Food Effects of the 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit

2026, Food Policy, 138(1).

Insufficient food is a hardship faced by many U.S. households. Several U.S. social safety net programs aim to improve these households' food conditions. In this paper I examine effects of the 2021 expanded child tax credit on food insufficiency. I use a difference-in-differences design to assess the heterogeneous impacts of the credit's monthly cash transfers to households with children. I find suggestive evidence that highlights the value of heterogeneity in policy evaluation and allows me to comment on the targeting of the policy and further policy implications. I find the payments significantly decreased self-reported food insufficiency for treated households relative to the control with larger effects for low-income, Black, Hispanic, low-education, and single-parent households. Additionally, households interacting with less accessible Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs saw larger effects of the payments than those with more accessible programs. Households facing a higher cost of living also saw larger food insufficiency effects than those facing a lower price level. I contribute to the literatures on the effects of cash transfers on food sufficiency and on the heterogeneous effects of government policies.

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