Does greater purchasing power of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program improve children's development?

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) plays an important role in reducing poverty. Despite the strong link between poverty and child development, particularly in early childhood, there is limited evidence on the effect of SNAP on the health and development of children, who comprise the largest group of SNAP recipients. The lack of research on this topic is partly due to a lack of variation in SNAP benefit policies across states. This study addresses this research gap by examining associations between cumulative SNAP purchasing power and cognitive, socioemotional, and health development among children in early childhood (age 4-6), drawing on data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort. The study uses two empirical strategies, a two-way (child and year) fixed effects model and a random effects model, to leverage the variation in SNAP purchasing power across the market group and year in which a child is observed. Findings suggest cumulative benefits of SNAP purchasing power for children's early reading skills among families who receive SNAP. Although not conclusive, this association seems to be partly driven by increases in parental reading time with the child. While greater SNAP purchasing power is positively associated with early math skills, approaches to learning skills, and general health status, these estimates are not robust and should be interpreted with caution. This paper informs policymakers that increasing SNAP benefit levels to account for local prices can enhance the effectiveness of SNAP in improving children's early cognitive development.