The Food Stamp Program in an Era of Welfare Reform: Electronic Benefits and Changing Sources of Cash Income

  1. PARKE E. WILDE,
  2. MARGARET S. ANDREWS

Article first published online: 3 MAR 2005

DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-6606.2000.tb00082.x

Issue

Journal of Consumer Affairs

Journal of Consumer Affairs

Volume 34, Issue 1, pages 31–46, Summer 2000

Additional Information

How to Cite

WILDE, P. E. and ANDREWS, M. S. (2000), The Food Stamp Program in an Era of Welfare Reform: Electronic Benefits and Changing Sources of Cash Income. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 34: 31–46. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-6606.2000.tb00082.x

Author Information

  1. Parke E. Wilde and Margaret S. Andrews are economists with the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. The authors express gratitude for comments from Nancy Cole and John Kirlin at Abt Associates, Inc. and for the highly accessible public use files they produced in conjunction with the evaluation of the statewide Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) demonstration in Maryland. The authors also appreciate the useful suggestions from Carol Olander and participants at a conference of the National Association of Welfare Research and Statistics, the editor, and two anonymous reviewers. This work does not necessarily represent the official view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 3 MAR 2005
  2. Article first published online: 3 MAR 2005

SEARCH

SEARCH BY CITATION

ARTICLE TOOLS

Get PDF (1067K)

Linked survey data and Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) records are used to investigate the distinct roles played by food stamp benefits and cash income in the household budget at different times of the month. Using data from Maryland in 1993, household budgets and food spending patterns are found to differ qualitatively, depending on whether the main source of cash income is welfare benefits, Social Security or Supplemental Security Income, or labor market earnings. These differences have implications for understanding the Food Stamp Program during the welfare reform period as many households move from welfare to work.

Get PDF (1067K)