Supplemental nutrition assistance program and parents’ time investments in children
Supplemental nutrition assistance program and parents’ time investments in children
An emerging literature explores whether social policy programs have benefits to families and their children, above and beyond economic and human capital outcomes. We investigate whether the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), an anti-poverty program, is associated with the time that parents invest in their children. We assess the association between SNAP and parental time investments by leveraging the temporary expansion of SNAP benefits provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. Applying a difference-in-difference with Coarsened Exact Matching approach to data from the American Time Use Survey, we investigate whether increased SNAP benefit levels were associated with parental time investments in basic care, management, play, and teaching activities. We find that ARRA-induced increases in SNAP benefit levels were associated with a decreased probability of time spent on management activities and an increased probability of time spent on basic care among single parents. This suggests that SNAP benefit increases influence how parents allocate time to their children.
Schenck-Fontaine, Anika
1ee2bcb8-f8e1-4459-b1ef-30dda4f32649
Zilanawala, Afshin
dddbeee8-798a-441c-bb79-f0d3908647dd
Sevilla, Almudena
29b75c95-3e2b-4891-97fb-f9e9c9e46ef3
1 August 2025
Schenck-Fontaine, Anika
1ee2bcb8-f8e1-4459-b1ef-30dda4f32649
Zilanawala, Afshin
dddbeee8-798a-441c-bb79-f0d3908647dd
Sevilla, Almudena
29b75c95-3e2b-4891-97fb-f9e9c9e46ef3
Schenck-Fontaine, Anika, Zilanawala, Afshin and Sevilla, Almudena
(2025)
Supplemental nutrition assistance program and parents’ time investments in children.
Children and Youth Services Review, 177, [108482].
(doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108482).
Abstract
An emerging literature explores whether social policy programs have benefits to families and their children, above and beyond economic and human capital outcomes. We investigate whether the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), an anti-poverty program, is associated with the time that parents invest in their children. We assess the association between SNAP and parental time investments by leveraging the temporary expansion of SNAP benefits provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. Applying a difference-in-difference with Coarsened Exact Matching approach to data from the American Time Use Survey, we investigate whether increased SNAP benefit levels were associated with parental time investments in basic care, management, play, and teaching activities. We find that ARRA-induced increases in SNAP benefit levels were associated with a decreased probability of time spent on management activities and an increased probability of time spent on basic care among single parents. This suggests that SNAP benefit increases influence how parents allocate time to their children.
Text
Manuscript_rev2 - Final
- Accepted Manuscript
Text
1-s2.0-S0190740925003652-main
- Version of Record
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 16 July 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 25 July 2025
Published date: 1 August 2025
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 504589
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/504589
ISSN: 0190-7409
PURE UUID: 80d332fc-9a65-4b3f-8c93-a6405178ab95
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 16 Sep 2025 16:32
Last modified: 17 Sep 2025 02:08
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Anika Schenck-Fontaine
Author:
Almudena Sevilla
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
