Welfare payments, food stamps and crime: evidence from US county-level data


Odabaşi S., Duffy P. A.

International Journal of Public Law and Policy, cilt.9, sa.2, ss.160-174, 2023 (Scopus) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 9 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2023
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1504/ijplap.2023.130008
  • Dergi Adı: International Journal of Public Law and Policy
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.160-174
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: economic development, economics of crime, panel data, welfare economics
  • Uşak Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study examines whether the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) implementations had an effect on criminal activities. To address this problem, the present study utilises two main variations: 1) changes in waiver of the time limit for areas within the states; 2) increases in SNAP benefits. A county level panel data from 2009 to 2015 for 3,134 counties is employed to investigate the relationship between SNAP benefits and crime. The findings show that SNAP benefits contribute to a significant reduction in the criminal activities in both rural and urban counties. The estimation results indicate that changes in waivers to work-related time limits is one of the significant factors which have an impact on criminal activities. Additionally, income-motivated crimes such as property, robbery, and burglary are more likely to be affected by the changes in individuals' welfare and income level changes.