Expenditure Response to Increases in In‐Kind Transfers: Evidence from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
利用2009年美国复苏与再投资法案带来的SNAP福利增加，研究发现家庭食品预算份额增长超过理论预测，对政策制定者和经济学家评估实物转移支付效果有参考价值。
Abstract Economic theory predicts that households who receive less in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits than they spend on food will treat SNAP benefits as if they were cash. However, empirical tests of these predictions draw different conclusions. In this study, we reexamine this question using recent increases in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, the largest of which was due to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. We find that increases in benefits cause households to increase their food budget share by more than would be predicted by theory. Results are robust to a host of specification tests.