American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
Program Recertification Costs: Evidence from SNAP
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 13,
no. 4, November 2021
(pp. 271–98)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
Participants in means-tested programs must periodically document eligibility through a recertification process. If all cases that fail recertification are ineligible, the exact timing of this process should be irrelevant. We find that later recertification interview assignments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which leave less time to reschedule missed interviews, decrease recertification success by 22 percent. The consequences of not recertifying due to later interviews are highly skewed: most cases quickly reenroll, while one-quarter remain off SNAP for over a year. The marginal disenrolled case is as needy as the average participant, suggesting inefficient screening from late interviews.Citation
Homonoff, Tatiana, and Jason Somerville. 2021. "Program Recertification Costs: Evidence from SNAP." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 13 (4): 271–98. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20190272Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- H51 National Government Expenditures and Health
- H75 State and Local Government: Health; Education; Welfare; Public Pensions
- I12 Health Behavior
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
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