The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) dramatically transformed and continues to transform the food assistance landscape in the United States. The Act cut more funds from the Food Stamp Program than it did from any other program, through reductions...

This report is an empirical inquiry into how poverty is changed by the macroeconomy. The analysis suggests low real wage rates and not the unemployment rate are the most important determinant of poverty in the long run. Changes in output and unemployment primarily affect cyclical or shortun...

Food assistance programs, particularly the Food Stamp Program, increase food spending and household income. In 2004, adding food stamp benefits to recipients’ incomes raised 9 percent of recipients out of poverty. Nutritional effects of food assistance programs are uncertain.