Program Recertification Costs: Evidence from SNAP
研究发现，补充营养援助计划（SNAP）中重新认证面试安排越晚，成功重新认证的概率降低22%，且未重新认证的案例中四分之一一年内未重新加入，表明这一过程导致低效筛选。
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.