SNAP Work Requirements, Administrative Burden, and Procedural Denials

Jason Cook, Elizabeth Cox and Chloe N. East

AEA Papers and Proceedings, 2026, vol. 116, 309-313

Abstract: Administrative burdens in public assistance create barriers to program access. Some argue that work requirements impose new paperwork and compliance costs, but this has been difficult to test empirically. One signifier of administrative burdens is procedural denials—denials due to things like missing paperwork rather than ineligibility. We examine the impact of removing work requirements for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on denials. We leverage variation in ABAWD work requirements across time and space, using administrative data from a mountain-plains state. Our findings indicate that eliminating work requirements reduces procedural denials.

JEL-codes: H75 I18 I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20261086

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