By clicking the "Accept" button or continuing to browse our site, you agree to first-party and session-only cookies being stored on your device to enhance site navigation and analyze site performance and traffic. For more information on our use of cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.
We study how eligibility expansions in the U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program affect take-up
among previously eligible households and social welfare. Using an event study with administrative take-up
data, we document a 鈥渨oodwork effect鈥�: Expanding eligibility raises take-up among previously eligible
households. An online experiment and administrative survey provide evidence that information frictions,
rather than stigma, drive SNAP鈥檚 woodwork effect. To interpret our findings, we develop a model of welfare
programs with incomplete take-up and woodwork effects. Given our empirical results and certain modeling
assumptions, expanding SNAP eligibility would raise social welfare.
