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Abstract
This study investigates young adults’ first experience with the Supplementary
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), examining the determinants of first program
entry and exit. It makes use of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997
cohort (NLSY97), which follows respondents from adolescence into adulthood. This
study estimates discrete-time hazard models of program entry and exit with and
without unobserved heterogeneity. Unobserved heterogeneity is modeled using both a
parametric approach, in which a gamma distribution is assumed, and a non-parametric
approach with two mass points. The results are broadly consistent across models,
indicating that, for the cohort in this study, accounting for unobserved heterogeneity
does not substantially alter the results from a basic discrete-time hazard model.
The results show that expanded categorical eligibility increased the hazard of
SNAP entry in the six years following high school, while the absence of vehicle
exclusions decreased the entry hazard. For program exit, however, state SNAP policies
had no statistically significant effect. The recent birth of a child, prior participation in
WIC and low educational attainment were each strongly associated with an increased
“risk” of SNAP entry, and decreased “risk” of exit. Somewhat, surprisingly, higher
unemployment rates in the local labor market were not significantly associated with
higher entry risk, but were strongly associated with a lower exit risk.