Participation in the Food Stamp Program: A Multivariate Analysis. CurrentPerspectives on Food Stamp Program Participation

摘要

The most recent estimates of participation in the Food Stamp Program (FSP)indicate that approximately 60 percent of FSP-eligible households participate in the program. Policymakers and program administrators have expressed concern about this less than universal participation, and are interested in the factors that are associated with nonparticipation and how program reforms affect the participation rate. This report uses data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to conduct an analysis of the determinants of FSP participation among eligible households. This analysis relies extensively on multivariate statistical techniques, which reveal how the participation rate varies with a given household characteristics, when the influence of other household characteristics is removed. In other words, a multivariate analysis indicates whether a given household characteristic per se has an effect on the probability of participation. This report uses SIPP data collected in 1985.