Research
Research
Previously titled "SNAP Enrollment, Labor Outcomes and Work Requirements"
Work requirements in U.S. safety net programs are often presented as a way to encourage work and screen less-needy participants off the program. This paper studies the participation, targeting, labor, and welfare effects of work requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs). Using administrative data from Virginia and quasi-experimental variation in county-level waivers from SNAP work requirements, I show that waivers increase ABAWD SNAP participation by 21.1%. Work requirement waivers improve the targeting efficiency of SNAP by increasing enrollment for more disadvantaged ABAWDs and by increasing participation among older and disabled adults living with ABAWDs. Turning to labor market outcomes, I show that work requirement waivers have no impact on earnings or employment. Using these empirical results I discuss implied welfare effects of work requirements and show that requirements cause a welfare loss to those affected; any gain must come from government cost savings. This paper has implications for recent expansions of work requirements in SNAP and Medicaid from the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
with Marianne Bitler, Jason Cook, and Seojung Oh
This paper investigates how a change in the benefit disbursement system in an in-kind transfer program from paper vouchers to an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) system affects program enrollment and attachment, focusing on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). We leverage the rollout of the WIC EBT system (called eWIC) in the state of Utah to identify these effects. Specifically, we employ a regression discontinuity (RD) analysis that uses the distance to the end date of a participant's WIC certification period as a running variable and the county's eWIC transition date as the discontinuity. Rich administrative data from the state of Utah's WIC program allow us cleanly identify each individual's certification period as well as whether the person recertified successfully for WIC, terminated WIC enrollment early, and if so, the reason for the early termination. While we find a strong first-stage effect, the results indicate that the transition to eWIC had little impact on WIC enrollment or attachment to the WIC program. Our findings suggest that although eWIC may have improved some aspects of the WIC experience, WIC program participation and much of its administrative burden remained unchanged. The eWIC transition in Utah, at least in the short run, did not appear to provide recipients with additional incentives to remain on the program large enough to offset the existing administrative burden.
Opioid Overdose Mortality Trends in Wisconsin: A Comparative Analysis of Medicaid Members and Non-Medicaid Populations
with Marguerite Burns, Laura Dague, and Alyssa Tilhou
Revised & Resubmitted to a journal that disallows preprints
While Medicaid disproportionately insures individuals with OUD at higher risk of opioid overdose, limited research directly compares trends in opioid overdose deaths by payer. A key limitation has been lack of data that links payer status to death by cause. In this paper we compare mortality between the Medicaid and Non-Medicaid populations separating death by any cause, death by overdose, and death by opioid overdose using vital statistics death records matched to Medicaid enrollment data from Wisconsin. We show consistently higher rates of death in the Medicaid population than the Non-Medicaid population and much larger increases in overdose deaths among Medicaid enrollees over time. These comparative mortality estimates can help stakeholders identify where prevention and treatment resources may yield the greatest benefit.
Sibling Health Shock Spillovers
with Leah Pomerantz
We study how children’s health and academic outcomes are affected by their siblings’ health shocks. Existing research has shown that having a sibling with a disability or with childhood cancer negatively affects a child’s academic outcomes but may positively affect their health outcomes. Other studies have shown that if an adult’s spouse experiences a negative health shock the un-affected spouse takes more preventative health measures. We estimate the effect of a sibling experiencing a relatively unexpected and non-hereditary health shock, such as breaking a bone, on children’s health and academic outcomes among low-income families. Such shocks may force families to allocate more time and money towards the affected child, potentially negatively affecting the child’s siblings. Conversely, one child experiencing a health shock may encourage the family as a whole to undertake more preventative health measures and ultimately benefit the siblings. We estimate a difference-in-differences design on Medicaid claims and administrative academic data from Wisconsin to answer our research questions.
The WIC Cycle: Issuance, Redemption, and Participation
with Marianne Bitler, Jason Cook, and Seojung Oh
Participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) receive food assistance benefits which expire each month. We use detailed administrative data on WIC benefit issuance, redemption, and enrollment to document patterns in WIC redemptions. We confirm the existence of a WIC redemption cycle with sharp peaks in redemption at the beginning and end of each month. We document that WIC participants generally redeem either their entire allotment of an item or none of it for items with a range of potential redemption amounts. Finally, we show that there is no evidence of stockpiling behavior among WIC participants approaching termination and investigate other redemption behaviors.
Food Effects of the 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit
2026, Food Policy, 138(1), 102982.
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.