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Food Stamp Participation and Reasons for Nonparticipation: 1986

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Abstract

The decision of eligible households to participate in the food stamp program is analyzed utilizing the 1986 Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Less than one-half of the sample of eligible households receive food stamps in 1986. The results of a multinomial logit model suggest that participation is related negatively to the age and educational level of the household head and positively to the benefit level. Participation is lower for single men and households residing in the West and higher for people with disabilities and households receiving some form of public transfer income. Problems regarding information about food stamps and personal attitudes toward food stamp use have the greatest impact on the decision to participate.

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Coe, R.D., Hill, D.H. Food Stamp Participation and Reasons for Nonparticipation: 1986. Journal of Family and Economic Issues 19, 107–130 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022996506711

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