Changes in Safety Net Use During the Great Recession

摘要

The Great Recession (GR) is widely characterized as the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. As might be expected in a period of such dire economic circumstances, participation in safety net programs increased. Here, we are interested in understanding not only this increase, but also in how these programs affect households at different parts of the income distribution. We examine at which points in the income-to-poverty distribution different programs find purchase, both in terms of participation and in terms of the fraction of a households' resources that these transfers comprise. In addition, we calculate how much of the change during the GR is due to falling income-to-poverty levels and other changes in household characteristics that directly affect program eligibility, and how much is due to changes in participation conditional on these factors. We find that program participation and benefits vary greatly across the income distribution by program, and that these differences carry over to the changes we see during the GR. For example, participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) is especially high for households below the poverty line, with increases over the GR distributed mainly to not just those households, but also those above the poverty threshold. For the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), participation is highest for households that are right around the poverty line, with the largest increases seen for those with incomes between about 80 and 160 percent of the threshold. By contrast, while public assistance (cash welfare) has the highest participation rate below the poverty line, during the GR there was no increase in participation or share of income from the program.