A comparative analysis of mandated SNAP benefit increases: Impacts on household spending during the Great Recession and COVID-19 pandemic

We study how comparable increases in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) monthly maximum benefits during the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic shaped the spending behavior of program participants. Using data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey, we apply a difference-in-differences approach to estimate both the average and distributional effects—by baseline spending levels—of each policy on household food and nondurable nonfood spending. Despite the similarity in the percentage increases in SNAP benefits during the two crises, our findings provide suggestive evidence of distinctions in their impacts. During the Great Recession, the benefit increase significantly boosted food expenditures by approximately 9%, on average, with larger effects (up to 20%) for low-food spending households. In contrast, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the estimated average effects were not statistically significant. The COVID-era sample contains fewer than half as many SNAP households as the Great Recession sample, limiting precision at the mean. Nonetheless, the benefit enhancement had positive distributional effects, increasing food expenditures by approximately 10% among lower-food spending households and 20% among those in the middle of the food expenditure distribution, respectively. We find no significant impacts on nondurable nonfood spending in either period. Our results highlight the roles of economic contexts and household behavior in shaping the effects of SNAP benefit changes, offering insights into tailoring food assistance policies during major crises.