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The Impact of Work Requirements on Program Participation and Labor Supply

Mary Zaki and her colleagues published a working paper analyzing the effects of work requirements on SNAP participation, beneficiary composition, and labor supply

Faculty Associate Mary Zaki and her colleagues published a working paper analyzing the effects of work requirements on SNAP participation, beneficiary composition, and labor supply.

Previous studies on the impacts of modern work requirements have been compromised by the severe using of survey data sources and non-randomly under-report participation in means-tested programs. This study, however, uses administrative data from Virginia’s SNAP program with links to wage records from Virginia’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) program. Therefore, this dataset allows researchers to study screening "using ex ante observed covariates, mitigates possible concerns of non-random selection into SNAP due to policy changes, and allows us to focus on a sample whose work behavior is most likely to be impacted by new SNAP policies."

Results suggest that work requirements dramatically reduce SNAP participation among childless adults. Moreover, evidence indicate that the policy disproportionately screens out beneficiaries with greater economic vulnerability and longer durations on SNAP. Though the study fails to detect substantial impacts of work requirements on average employment or earnings, results suggest work requirements screen out a large number of economically vulnerable SNAP beneficiaries in exchange for an earnings increase among a limited subset of individuals.

Zaki, M., et al. (2019) "Employed in a SNAP? The Impact of Work Requirements on Program Participation and Labor Supply." 

See the complete working paper by Mary Zaki and her colleagues

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