Food assistance can disrupt intergenerational poverty: New CPSP analysis featured in Washington Center for Equitable Growth series on US inequality and mobility
In this working paper, released by the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, CPSP researchers use data from the 1960s through 2019 to investigate whether and how food assistance (here: the Food Stamp Program, which later evolved into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP), disrupts the persistence of poverty across generations and the degree to which this impact differs across families by race and ethnicity. We find that food assistance received in early childhood reduces the likelihood of poverty in adulthood, as well as the depth of poverty for those who do experience it. These results were strongest for Black individuals, pointing to the program’s potential to reduce racial inequality in the persistence of poverty over time.
Suggested Citation:
Glasner, Benjamin, Ronald B. Mincy, Zachary Parolin, and Christopher Wimer. 2023. “The Effectiveness of the Food Stamp Program at Reducing Racial Differences in the Intergenerational Persistence of Poverty.” Working paper, Washington Center for Equitable Growth.