Do Minimum Wage Increases Affect SNAP Benefits?
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Thomas Snyder
,
Senayt Rinkevich
Abstract
The recession of the late 2000s accompanied a steep increase in the number of people on the U.S. federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The economy recovered, yet the number of people on SNAP remained relatively high. This study investigates whether increases in minimum wages affected the number of SNAP beneficiaries and the per-capita cost of the program. Economic reasoning suggests a minimum wage increase can decrease poverty through higher wages or increase poverty by enacting a barrier to work. Using a panel data set (1997–2015) at the state level, two-way fixed effects estimates demonstrate a nonlinear relationship between minimum wages and SNAP benefits. At low minimum wages, increases in the minimum wage reduce SNAP enrollment and benefits; however, at high minimum wages, increases in the minimum wage increase SNAP enrollment and benefits. Twenty states have already passed the minimum wage turning point. Further increases can lead to more SNAP participants.
References
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Articles in the same Issue
- The Impact of Secondary Environmental Variables on OECD Healthcare Efficiency: A Robust Conditional Approach
- Voluntary Mobility of Employees for Better Job Opportunities Given a Temporary Contract: Insights Regarding an Age-Varying Association Between the Two Events
- Do Local Institutions Affect Labour Market Participation? The Italian Case
- Refunding Emissions Taxes: The Case For A Three-Part Policy
- Do Minimum Wage Increases Affect SNAP Benefits?
- Dynamics of Individual Income Rank Volatility: Evidence from West Germany and the US
- Elevated Uncertainty during the Financial Crisis: Do Effects on Subjective Well-Being Differ across European Countries?
- Do Immigrants Compete with Natives in the Greek Labour Market? Evidence from the Skill-Cell Approach before and during the Great Recession
- Housing Wealth Effects in Japan: Evidence Based on Household Micro Data
- Gender Discrimination in Exam Grading? Double Evidence from a Natural Experiment and a Field Experiment
- On Lawyer Compensation When Appeals Are Possible
- Optimal Disability Insurance with Informal Child Care
