Nutrition Assistance Program Take-Up Given Multi-Program Eligibility

AAEA members release new research in the open access JAAEA

Many states are currently ending nutrition assistance program flexibilities put in place to address the unique challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Removal of these flexibilities will increase the transaction costs of nutrition assistance program participation and likely impact take-up among those eligible for multiple programs. 

In the new article “Nutrition Assistance Program Take-Up Given Multi-Program Eligibility” published in the Journal of the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association, Andrea Leschewski and David Davis from South Dakota State University learn about the determinants of the number of nutrition assistance programs low-income households with children choose to participate in given multiprogram eligibility.

Leschewski says, “Households with young children (1-4 years) participate in fewer nutrition assistance programs given eligibility. This is especially troublesome given nutrition during infancy and early childhood is critical for the prevention of long-term medical and developmental problems. We also find low-income households with a college-educated respondent, married respondent, and located in a metro area have lower program take-up given multiprogram eligibility. Program factors that reduce the transaction costs and stigma of participation, such as longer SNAP certification periods and WIC EBT, were found to improve program take-up given eligibility for multiple programs.”

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ABOUT AAEA: Established in 1910, the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) is the leading professional association for agricultural and applied economists, with 2,500 members in more than 60 countries. Members of the AAEA work in academic or government institutions as well as in industry and not-for-profit organizations, and engage in a variety of research, teaching, and outreach activities in the areas of agriculture, the environment, food, health, and international development. The AAEA publishes three journals, the Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (an open access journal), the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, as well as the online magazine Choices and the online open access publication series Applied Economics Teaching Resources. To learn more, visit www.aaea.org.

Contact: Allison Ware
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