Volume 38, Supplement 2003
Haider, Steven H., Alison Jacknowitz, and Robert F. Schoeni. 2003. "Food Stamps and the Elderly: Why is Participation So Low?" Journal of Human Resources 38(S):1080-1111.
Estimates imply that only one-third of elderly persons who are eligible for food stamps actually participate in the program, which is half the rate that exists among younger people. This study investigates potential reasons for the relatively low take-up rate among the elderly. Analyzing new data, we conclude that the low take-up rate is not explained by measurement error and little is explained by various behavioral factors. Despite this much lower take-up rate, elderly who are eligible for assistance but not enrolled in the program do not appear to be especially needy.
Steven J. Haider is an assistant professor of economics at Michigan State
University; Alison Jacknowitz is a doctoral fellow at the RAND Graduate School;
Robert F. Schoeni is an associate professor of public policy and economics and
senior associate research scientist at the Institute for Social Re- search,
University of Michigan. The authors thank Jim Ohls and two anonymous referees
for detailed comments on a previous draft. This paper was prepared for the
conference Income Volatility and Implications for Food Assistance sponsored by
the Institute for Research on Poverty and the Economic Research Service of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, May 2-3, 2002. Haider and Schoeni acknowledge
financial support from the National Institute on Aging, R03 AG20542-01 and
KO1AG00670, respectively. Responsibility for the content of this paper rests
solely with the authors. The data used in this article can be obtained beginning
May 2003 through April 2007 from Steven Haider, Department of Economics,
Michigan State University, 101 Marshall Hall, East Lansing, M148824.
© 2003 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
US ISSN 0022-166X