Verdict Is In: Food Stamps Put Poor Kids on Path to Success
By Peter R. Orszag
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-12-04/verdict-is-in-food-stamps-put-poor-kids-on-path-to-success
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The food stamp program was established on a pilot basis in eight poor counties by President John F. Kennedy in 1961; the pilot was expanded to more than 40 counties in the early 1960s. The Food Stamp Act of 1964 then authorized the creation of a program in every county in the nation, at the county’s option. More and more counties adopted the program, and legislation in 1973 then mandated that every county participate by 1975. So between 1962 and 1975, the program became available in an increasing number of counties.
It’s this gradual rollout that allows the researchers to study the effects of the program, because children living in otherwise similar families either did or didn’t receive benefits depending on whether their county voluntarily participated at the time. (The researchers show that county choice seems to be unrelated to other factors that may have substantially affected children living there.)
The economists focus on people born between 1956 and 1981, who were young children when the program was expanding, and who grew up in families with a parent with less than a high school education. They find that access to the program as a young child significantly improved economic outcomes and health status as an adult.
In particular, food stamp access as a child was associated with much lower risk of metabolic syndrome as an adult and, especially for women, higher levels of educational attainment and income along with lower participation on means-tested benefit programs. For example, food stamp access during childhood is linked to a 5 percentage point reduction in heart disease and an 18 percentage point increase in high school completion rates, compared to those who lacked access.
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