title: Does the Timing of Food Stamp Distribution Matter? A Panel-Data Analysis of Monthly Purchasing Patterns of US Households.
abstract: In this paper, we examine the relationship between the timing of food stamp receipt and purchasing patterns. We combine data on state distribution dates of food stamps with scanner data on a panel of households purchases tracked between 2004 and 2011. We find that purchases of a variety of goods are meaningfully higher on receipt days, consistent with previous work that suggests that recipients are very impatient. Additionally, and importantly, estimates indicate that when food stamp receipt days fall on weekends, total monthly purchases within the same households are affected. In particular, monthly purchases of beer are higher when food stamps are distributed on a weekend rather than in months where benefits are distributed on weekdays. For these households, total beer purchases are between 4 and 5% higher in those months. Among households ineligible for food stamps, no effect is identified. These results demonstrate that the 'day-of-the-week' of SNAP treatment may have important impacts on household purchase habits. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Castellari
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI, USA.|University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Chad
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cotti
authors.affiliation: University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gordanier
authors.affiliation: University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
authors.forename: Orgul
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ozturk
mesh_terms: D000434:Alcoholic Beverages; D003132:Commerce / Q000191:economics; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000191:economics*; D005191:Family Characteristics; D063105:Food Assistance / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005523:Food Supply; D006801:Humans; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: D91; EBT; H75; I1; I38; SNAP benefits; food stamps; impatience