Inside the War on Poverty: The Impact of Food Stamps on Birth Outcomes
Open accessAbstract
This paper evaluates the health impacts of a signature initiative of the War on Poverty: the introduction of the modern Food Stamp Program (FSP). Using variation in the month FSP began operating in each U.S. county, we find that pregnancies exposed to FSP three months prior to birth yielded deliveries with increased birth weight, with the largest gains at the lowest birth weights. We also find small but statistically insignificant improvements in neonatal mortality. We conclude that the sizable increase in income from FSP improved birth outcomes for both whites and African Americans, with larger impacts for African American mothers.
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The validity of the Almond, Hoynes and Schanzenbach analysis requires parallel trends throughout the birth weight distribution, precisely the condition Proposition 3.1 shows is needed for the usual parallel trends assumption to be insensitive to functional form.
“The validity of this analysis requires parallel trends throughout the birth weight distribution - precisely the condition that Proposition 3.1 shows is needed for the usual parallel trends assumption to be insensitive to functional form.”
From When Is Parallel Trends Sensitive to Functional Form? (2023) · cites this paper as Almond, Hoynes and Schanzenbach (2011)
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- Authors
- Almond, D., Hoynes, H. W., & Schanzenbach, D. W.
- Affiliations
- National Bureau of Economic Research (US)
- Northwestern University (US)
- Venue
- Review of Economics and Statistics
- Publisher
- MIT Press
- Published
- 2011-05
- Volume
- 93
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 387-403
- ISSN
- 0034-6535 (ISSN-L)
- 1530-9142
- OpenAlex
- W2079913616
- Cited by
- 547
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 57 · 2022: 44 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 36 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 48 · 2017: 34 · 2016: 40 · 2015: 37 · 2014: 37 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 18.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- The Review of Economics and Statistics (publishedVersion)
- National Bureau of Economic Research (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- SSRN Electronic Journal (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Russell Sage Foundation
- Sage Foundation
- Northwestern University
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Maternal and Neonatal Healthcare
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Birth, Development, and Health
- Keywords
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, War on Poverty, food aid, birth outcomes, birth weight, neonatal mortality, maternal nutrition, racial disparities, African American mothers, 1960s
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