ECIN Replication Package for "Purchases Over the SNAP Benefit Cycle: Evidence from Supermarket Panel Data"

This paper investigates the effect of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP) benefit disbursement on intra monthly household level purchases made from a supermarket retailer. Using variation in the timing of benefit receipt, we find that spending and the likelihood of shopping increase by $2 and 1.5 percentage points, respectively, on the day that SNAP benefits are disbursed. We also find that the bulk(national brand) expenditure share increases by 2 (0.6) percentage points on the day of benefit receipt. We find little evidence for cyclicality in the healthfulness of food purchases.Finally, we compare and contrast estimates that use variation in the indicator for benefit receipt (benefit receipt estimates) to estimates that utilize variation in the probability of SNAP benefit receipt (likelihood of benefit receipt estimates). We find that the likelihood of benefit receipt estimates are statistically distinguishable from and 2.1 to 2.8 times larger than the benefit receipt estimates for the outcome of spending.We decompose these differences and provide guidance to researchers in the event that only the likelihood of benefit receipt is known.