Econ Papers Daily / 期刊论文
额外收益是如何支出的？
How were extra benefits spent?
摘要
This paper examines the spending effects of a pandemic-related increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, one of the largest U.S. aid programs. In March 2020, SNAP recipients began receiving emergency allotments that raised their monthly grocery funds significantly. Using transaction data that record households’ goods purchases across various retailers, I show that emergency allotments increased monthly food-at-home spending by approximately $109 relative to eligible non-recipients, implying a marginal propensity to consume food of about 0.6. Recipients bought more items and traded up within categories toward higher quality, increasing purchases of meat, produce, and dairy that are otherwise less affordable, alongside beverages and snacks. Non-food spending rose little relative to the food response. A household survey corroborates the size and food concentration of the response. I also show that observing only the main retailer would capture around half of the food-at-home response.
中文摘要
本文考察了与疫情相关的补充营养援助计划（SNAP）福利增加所带来的支出效应，该计划是美国规模最大的援助项目之一。2020年3月，SNAP受助者开始领取紧急拨款，其每月食品杂货资金显著提高。利用记录家庭在各类零售商处商品购买情况的交易数据，我发现，相对于符合条件的非受助者，紧急拨款使每月家庭食品支出增加约109美元，意味着食品的边际消费倾向约为0.6。受助者购买了更多商品，并在品类内向上交易、转向更高质量的产品，增加了对原本较难负担的肉类、农产品和乳制品的购买，同时也增加了对饮料和零食的购买。非食品支出相对于食品支出的反应增幅很小。一项家庭调查证实了该反应规模及其集中于食品的特征。我还表明，仅观察主要零售商将只能捕捉到家庭食品支出反应的大约一半。