Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references.

This dissertation is composed of three essays that analyze the significance of the Food Stamp Program (FSP) for low-income households. The first essay entitled “Intensity of Food Stamp Use and Transient and Chronic Poverty: Evidence from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics” examines the impact of intensity of use of FSP benefits on household exposure to transient and chronic poverty with respect to food and housing expenditures. The study finds that FSP is used for both long-term expenditure support and as a smoothing mechanism before the welfare reform, and only for smoothing expenditures after the welfare reform. Factors that influence both components of poverty are number of children, human capital, minority status and local economic conditions. Another finding is that shorter recertification periods reduce the length of FSP use, and indirectly result in higher poverty. The second essay entitled “The End of the Paper Era in the Food Stamp Program: The Impact of Electronic Benefits on Program Participation” documents the impact of the implementation of the statewide Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system on household participation behavior in the entire period of nationwide implementation. The major finding is that the switch from paper coupons to EBT cards induces participation among eligible households, most likely by reducing the stigma associated with FSP participation. The effect of the EBT system on participation probabilities is the largest among households residing in the rural South, those not headed by a single mother or those with a White household head. The third essay entitled “The Dynamics of Food Stamp Program Participation: A Lagged Dependent Variable Approach” investigates the existence of state dependence and its sources by analyzing the dynamics of participation in the FSP using a lagged dependent variable approach. Results show that FSP receipt in the previous period is an important determinant of current FSP receipt. Estimated persistence rates declined significantly after 1996, suggesting that long-term welfare dependency was reduced after the welfare reform, at least with respect to the FSP. The source of state dependence in FSP participation among low-income households is mostly structural implying that a welfare trap does exist for these households. / Ph. D.

A paradox exists between food insecurity and obesity. Childhood obesity has tripled in the past three decades. This study aimed to understand the relationships between food insecurity, poverty income ratio, food stamps usage, perceived diet quality, and weight status in children. A child’s weight status is determined by many different factors and this study investigated several of these aspects. It was found that the family’s poverty index ratio had the greatest effect on a child’s BMI, but household food security status, ethnicity, and the perceived inability to serve balanced meals were all found to be statistically significant when considering a child’s BMI.

The caseloads of food stamp program and welfare program experienced sharp drops among non-metropolitan single female-headed families with children (SFHFwC) after welfare reform in 1996. There is concern that leaving welfare program has led to nonparticipation in food stamp program due to multiple reasons. This study conducts an empirical analysis of non-metropolitan SFHFwC's participation in food stamp program and welfare program, using the 1993 and 1999 CPS data. Results from using reduced-form probit model, bivariate probit model and structural probit model are compared. The reduced-form probit model considers participation in both programs as functions of all exogenous variables. The bivariate probit model allows correlation between the participation in the two programs. The structural probit model considers participation in welfare as an endogenous variable of FSP participation. Empirical analysis is also conducted through the comparison across years and between southern and the remaining U.S. states. We found that welfare participation has a significant and positive impact on FSP participation. Households leaving welfare are more likely not to participate in FSP. Further, welfare participation is more important in determining FSP participation in 1999 than in 1993. Residence in South has a significant and negative impact in welfare participation in 1999, but has no significant impact on FSP participation in either year. Incomes and number of young children are the other major determinants of participation in both programs. Policy suggestions include improving economic situation to reduce FSP caseloads on one side, and providing more information about FSP eligibility to welfare leavers to ensure their food safety on the other side. / Master of Science

This study explores and assesses the attitudes of the personnel of welfare-oriented governmental bureaucracies toward the poor. To fulfill these goals, a treatment and a control group were selected to compare their attitudes toward this group. They were measured by a disguised-structured instrument using the survey approach. It was found that the majority of respondents in both groups have a pro-poor attitude but it is more prevalent among the bureaucrats than among the students. In light of the knowledge we have of the effect of attitudes on the execution of policies, these results suggest that the policies governing the different programs studied are being executed to the advantage of the client.

No description available.

The "work first" philosophy of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act sent millions of people into the labor force, many for the first time. The result was a dramatic increase in the number of workers whose earnings failed to pull them and their families out of poverty. Assistance in the form of childcare, transportation, medical coverage, and the Earned Income Tax Credit is beginning to receive attention as support mechanisms for people who do not earn adequate wages and receive little benefits from their employers. This study examines the effectiveness of Georgia's approach to providing work support programs to its working poor citizens. No single entity is responsible for making work supports accessible. Thus, services often go underutilized because those who might qualify are not aware of their potential eligibility. Further, there is no state level strategy for ensuring that wage advancement is considered by agencies providing work support services. Using client administrative wage data from the Georgia Department of Labor and qualitative interviews from program staff, the state's structure for assisting the working poor is examined.