Date of Award

12-24-2025

Date Published

January 2026

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Public Administration

Advisor(s)

Colleen Heflin

Subject Categories

Public Administration | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Abstract

Abstract In this dissertation, I present three studies that examine how different forms of inconsistency—arising from timing disruptions, eligibility structures, and administrative churn—shape the functioning and effectiveness of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Although SNAP is designed to provide a reliable source of food assistance, access to benefits is not always predictable, continuous, or evenly accessible. The studies show that inconsistencies can emerge through external shocks that alter the timing of benefit delivery, through eligibility rules tied to disability determinations in other programs that may exclude self-reported disabled households from accommodations, and through administrative procedures that generate temporary interruptions in participation. Together, these mechanisms highlight how SNAP’s effectiveness depends not only on benefit levels, but also on the predictability, accessibility, and continuity of program access. In the first chapter, I examine how an unexpected shift in the timing of SNAP benefit issuance during the 2018–2019 federal government shutdown affected household expenditures. When February benefits were distributed early—resulting in two months of benefits being received in January and none in February—SNAP households experienced an abrupt timing shock that temporarily altered the flow of resources available for food purchases. Using Consumer Expenditure Survey data from 2018 and 2019 and an event study design comparing SNAP-eligible households to a moderate-income comparison group, I find short-lived but meaningful increases in food-related spending, with Food Away from Home rising sharply in January and February and Food at Home showing more modest increases into spring 2019. Nonfood spending remained largely unchanged aside from a delayed increase in utility payments, indicating that the early issuance shifted the timing rather than the overall level of expenditures. These results provide new evidence that the predictability of benefit timing plays an important role in shaping spending patterns among low-income households, and that administrative disruptions in payment schedules can generate short-term instability in household budgeting and resource allocation. In the second chapter, I examine whether SNAP reduces food insecurity among households that include a member with a disability—a population that experiences disproportionately high rates of food hardship due to limited employment opportunities, reduced earnings, and additional health-related expenses. Using data from the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement linked to the Annual Social and Economic Supplement from 2009 to 2019, I estimate the effect of SNAP participation on food insecurity and very low food security among households with disabled members. Because food-insecure households are more likely to apply for SNAP, I address endogeneity through a bivariate probit model using state-level SNAP policies as instruments, with supplemental models incorporating receipt of disability income programs such as SSI, SSDI, and VA, and ordinal models using the USDA four-category food security scale to assess the severity of food insecurity. The findings indicate that once endogeneity is accounted for, SNAP significantly reduces both food insecurity and very low food security among households with disabled members, and these results remain robust across specifications. However, given the persistent disparities in food insecurity among households with disabled members, these results should be understood within a policy context in which SNAP’s disability-related accommodations apply only to households qualifying for disability income programs, leaving many self-reported disabled households without these supports and facing higher administrative barriers to participation. In the third chapter, using recent, population-wide administrative data from Virginia, I analyze administrative churn in SNAP—defined as temporary exits and reentries within four months that interrupt benefit receipt—and examine its prevalence, duration, and associations with household, individual, and spatial characteristics. I also compare a pre-pandemic period (2017–2019) and an early post-pandemic period (2022–2024), after most temporary flexibilities had expired but during a policy environment that included lingering Emergency Allotments through early 2023 and interview waivers through late 2022, as well as the full implementation of the Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP), to examine how churn patterns evolved over time. About one quarter of participating households experienced churn in 2017–2019, compared with 19 percent in 2022–2024, a statistically significant decline. Most churners experienced only one interruption, though a meaningful minority had multiple spells, and average spell length increased slightly across periods. Churn was concentrated among larger households, those with young children, households with earned income, and those in urban areas. Individual-level patterns were similar, with churn more common among younger, unmarried adults and showing racial disparities. Overall, the analysis shows that administrative churn remains a persistent source of instability in SNAP, and that while churn declined in the post-pandemic period, patterns by different characteristics remained largely unchanged. These findings suggest that simplifying recertification and reducing documentation and reporting burdens may help promote more continuous access to food assistance for vulnerable households. Overall, the three studies demonstrate that inconsistencies in benefit timing, program eligibility, and administrative continuity meaningfully shape how households experience SNAP. While the program provides substantial protection against food insecurity, especially for vulnerable populations, uneven timing, misaligned eligibility criteria, and administrative interruptions can undermine its effectiveness. These findings underscore the importance of reducing administrative frictions and strengthening the consistency of program design to ensure that SNAP functions as a reliable and accessible component of the social safety net.

Access

Open Access

Download

Share

COinS