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| Abstract |
The “welfare magnet hypothesis” contends that an area offering generous welfare attracts more households to that area seeking to take advantage of its additional benefits. If true, this theory bears significance for policymakers, as more substantial welfare programs could increase the number of individuals on those programs; and, moreover, increase the burden on the area’s budget and taxpayers. We evaluate this theory by analyzing a recent policy change in Ohio, namely the rollback of work requirement waivers for SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) in many Ohio counties in 2014. As a result of this change, several Ohio counties newly require that households who previously qualified for SNAP work 30 hours a week (with some exemptions) in order to qualify for the program. If the welfare magnet hypothesis applies in this circumstance, we would expect to see households disproportionately migrating to counties that retained the work requirement waiver (and thus did not require beneficiaries to work) than to counties that enforce the restriction. Using household tracking data from a marketing company and supplementary data from the American Community Survey, we evaluate the migration patterns of Ohio households both before and after the policy change. While this research is ongoing, initial findings indicate that the SNAP policy change has little to no effect on migration between counties.
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| Contributor(s) |
Faculty Mentor
Curtis Reynolds |
| Modified Abstract |
In 2014, several Ohio counties newly required that households work 30 hours per week (with some exemptions) in order to qualify for SNAP (the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program, or Food Stamps). If the “welfare magnet hypothesis” applies in this circumstance, we would expect to see households disproportionately migrating to counties that retained the work requirement waiver (and thus did not require beneficiaries to work) than to counties that enforce the restriction. Using household tracking data from a marketing company and supplementary data from the American Community Survey, we evaluate the migration patterns of Ohio households both before and after the policy change. While this research is ongoing, initial findings indicate that the SNAP policy change has little to no effect on migration between counties. |