TY - JOUR
T1 - A dynamic analysis of the well-being of WIC recipients and eligible non-recipients
AU - Gundersen, Craig
N1 - Funding Information:
Correspondence should be directed to Craig Gundersen, Department of Human Development and Family Studies and Affiliate, Institute for Social and Behavioral Research, Iowa State University, 74 LeBaron Hall, Ames, IA 50011, (515) 294-6319, cggunder@iastate.edu . Gundersen is Associate Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Studies and Affiliate, Institute for Social and Behavioral Research, Iowa State University. This research was partially supported by the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station and the Institute for Social and Behavioral Research. The author wishes to thank Elizabeth Fusell-Racine, Jennifer Olmsted, Timothy Parker, Rachel Dunifon, Dawn Aldridge, and Victor Oliveira. Previous versions of this paper were presented at 2003 Annual Meetings of the National Association of Welfare Research and Statistics and in a seminars at Iowa State University and the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Michael Merten provided excellent research assistance for this paper.
PY - 2005/1
Y1 - 2005/1
N2 - Despite the benefits associated with the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), over 1 in 4 eligible infants and 6 in 10 eligible children do not receive WIC. The reasons for these high rates of non-participation are analyzed in this paper through a comparison of the short- and long-run economic health of (a) WIC recipients, (b) persons who have left WIC, and (c) persons who have never entered the program despite being eligible for benefits. Using data from the 1996 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, I find that in both the short- and long-run, infants and children who have left WIC are better-off than those staying on WIC and infants and children who never receive WIC are better off than both those on WIC and those who have left WIC. However, in absolute terms, a large number of non-recipients remain eligible and seemingly in need of WIC. This is especially true for infants who have left WIC- on average, in any month, over 35% have incomes below the poverty line; almost 20% have incomes below 50% of the poverty line; almost a third receive food stamps; and over 80% remain eligible for WIC.
AB - Despite the benefits associated with the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), over 1 in 4 eligible infants and 6 in 10 eligible children do not receive WIC. The reasons for these high rates of non-participation are analyzed in this paper through a comparison of the short- and long-run economic health of (a) WIC recipients, (b) persons who have left WIC, and (c) persons who have never entered the program despite being eligible for benefits. Using data from the 1996 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, I find that in both the short- and long-run, infants and children who have left WIC are better-off than those staying on WIC and infants and children who never receive WIC are better off than both those on WIC and those who have left WIC. However, in absolute terms, a large number of non-recipients remain eligible and seemingly in need of WIC. This is especially true for infants who have left WIC- on average, in any month, over 35% have incomes below the poverty line; almost 20% have incomes below 50% of the poverty line; almost a third receive food stamps; and over 80% remain eligible for WIC.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.childyouth.2004.08.014
DO - 10.1016/j.childyouth.2004.08.014
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:8744241550
SN - 0190-7409
VL - 27
SP - 99
EP - 114
JO - Children and Youth Services Review
JF - Children and Youth Services Review
IS - 1
ER -