Does SNAP participation increase bulk purchases?

Hannah Wich and Katherine Harris-Lagoudakis

Journal of Public Economics, 2025, vol. 249, issue C

Abstract: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) issues monthly lump-sum payments. One potential benefit of SNAP payments is that they could ease liquidity constraints for participating households. Using novel retailer panel data, this is the first study to investigate the effect of SNAP on bulk purchasing behavior using within-household variation. To estimate a causal relationship between SNAP and bulk purchases, we use the timing of program re-certification as a source of exogenous variation in the decision to participate in SNAP. We find that participating in SNAP increases the expenditure share of bulk purchases for all groceries by six percentage points. Analyses aiming to disentangle whether increased bulk spending among SNAP households reflects an “income effect” or a “liquidity effect” point to the former, with spending patterns indicating “splurge behavior” rather than efforts to minimize prices.

Keywords: Consumption; Liquidity constraints; Income effect; SNAP participation; Bulk discounts; Retail scanner data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D12 D14 I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:249:y:2025:i:c:s0047272725001409

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2025.105442

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