Issuance and Incidence: SNAP Benefit Cycles and Grocery Prices
研究补充营养援助计划（SNAP）的月度一次性福利发放时间如何影响食品购买和福利转移的归宿，发现零售商并未根据需求周期调整价格。
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 scanner data from a large sample of grocery stores and state and time variation in SNAP issuance schedules, we document large, SNAP-induced intramonth 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 may reduce costs from SNAP-induced demand surges but are unlikely to affect the incidence of SNAP benefits.