The Decline in Food Stamp Program Participation in the 1990's

Parke E. Wilde , Peggy J. Cook , Craig Gundersen , Mark Nord , and Laura Tiehen

United States Department of Agriculture

关键词: Food Stamp Program;    welfare reform;    economic conditions;    caseload dynamics;   

RP-ID  :  FANRR-7

学科分类：农业科学（综合）

美国|英语

来源: United States Department of Agriculture Publications

【 摘 要 】

The Food Stamp Program saw an unprecedented decline in participation from 27.5 million participants in 1994 to 18.2 million participants in 1999. A strong economy and changes in social welfare programs drove this change. An econometric model with State-level data calculated that 35 percent of the caseload decline from 1994 to 1998 was associated with changing economic conditions and 12 percent with program reform and political variables. Household-level data from the Current Population Survey lead to the conclusion that 28 percent of the total change in participation was associated with a decrease in the number of people with low income (below 130 percent of the poverty line) and 55 percent was due to a decline in the proportion of low-income people who participate.