Issuance and Incidence: SNAP Benefit Cycles and Grocery Prices

Jacob Goldin, Tatiana Homonoff and Katherine Meckel

No 28221, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Many safety-net programs issue benefits as monthly lump-sum payments. We investigate how the timing of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit issuance affects food purchases and the incidence of the transfer. Using retail scanner data from a large sample of grocery stores and state and time variation in SNAP issuance schedules, we document large, SNAP-induced intra-month cycles in food expenditures. However, we find that retailers do not adjust prices based on these predictable patterns of demand. Our results therefore suggest that reforming issuance schedules reduce costs from SNAP-induced demand surges but are unlikely to affect the incidence of SNAP benefits.

JEL-codes: H0 H53 I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-12
Note: CH PE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Published as Jacob Goldin & Tatiana Homonoff & Katherine Meckel, 2022. "Issuance and Incidence: SNAP Benefit Cycles and Grocery Prices," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, vol 14(1), pages 152-178.

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Journal Article: Issuance and Incidence: SNAP Benefit Cycles and Grocery Prices (2022)
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