PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Lucie Schmidt
AU  - Lara Shore-Sheppard
AU  - Tara Watson
TI  - The Effect of Safety Net Programs on Food Insecurity
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.51.3.1013-5987R1
DP  - 2015 Nov 30
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2015/11/20/jhr.51.3.1013-5987R1.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2015/11/20/jhr.51.3.1013-5987R1.full
AB  - We investigate to what extent major safety net program benefits affect food insecurity in families. We impute program eligibility and benefits in each state for 2001-2009, accounting for cross-program eligibility rules. We use simulated eligibility and benefits for a nationally representative sample as instruments for imputed eligibility and potential benefits. Among non-immigrant, low-income single-parent families, $1000 in potential cash or food benefits reduces the incidence of food insecurity by 1.1 percentage points on a base of 33 percent. Cash and food both reduce food insecurity. The results highlight the importance of jointly considering a full range of safety net programs.