Tightening Income Documentation in a Means-Tested Program

Philip Gleason, John Burghardt, Paul Strasberg and Lara Hulsey
Additional contact information
Philip Gleason: Mathematica Policy Research
John Burghardt: Mathematica Policy Research
Paul Strasberg: Institute for Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education
Lara Hulsey: Mathematica Policy Research

Evaluation Review, 2008, vol. 32, issue 3, 273-297

Abstract: Programs using means tests to identify low-income households face a trade-off between promoting access and ensuring program integrity. The authors use a comparison-district design to estimate the effects of a pilot program to improve the accuracy of the process of certifying students for free or reduced-price meals in the National School Lunch Program. This pilot program required households to provide income documentation with their applications for these benefits. Requiring income documentation did not reduce the proportion of ineligible households getting free or reduced-price meals. Furthermore, this requirement did reduce access to the program among eligible households.

Keywords: school lunch; free or reduced-price meals; income documentation; program integrity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:evarev:v:32:y:2008:i:3:p:273-297

DOI: 10.1177/0193841X07309689

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