Social inequity in administrative burdens: Evidence from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

Abstract

AbstractAdministrative burdens in government programs are common and may exacerbate inequity in government service provision and access. Work requirements represent an onerous administrative burden as they entail substantial effort in complying and documenting compliance. We investigate whether state politics and race influence local Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirement restrictiveness. To measure restrictiveness, we leverage the fact that states can apply for waivers of the SNAP work requirement during times of high unemployment. Using a novel dataset of county waivers from 2005 to 2018, we investigate whether state politics or county racial composition predict the likelihood a county has work requirements waived, conditional on unemployment. We find that counties in Republican‐controlled states and counties with higher percentages of Black populations are less likely to be waived. Counties with higher Black percentages are less likely to be waived if they are located in Republican‐controlled states. These results highlight the need for greater transparency in waiver implementation.