Table 1
Descriptive Statistics, ACS (2006–2012).
| VARIABLES | INDIVIDUALS AGED 23–40 | VETERANS AGED 23–40 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VETERANS | NON-VETERANS | NEWLY SEPARATED | SEPARATED > 1 YEAR | |
| In SNAP (%) | 11.6 | 17.3 | 7.0 | 13.2 |
| In College (%) | 26.3 | 12.3 | 25.6 | 26.6 |
| Associate Degree (%) | 15.5 | 14.7 | 15.2 | 15.7 |
| Age (mean in years) | 29.2 | 31.2 | 28.8 | 29.3 |
| Male (%) | 83.5 | 49.4 | 83.6 | 83.4 |
| Number of Children (mean) | 0.826 | 1.057 | 0.810 | 0.831 |
| Number of Children under 5 (mean) | 0.383 | 0.341 | 0.368 | 0.388 |
| Married (%) | 46.4 | 42.6 | 51.0 | 44.7 |
| Single/Never Married (%) | 36.0 | 44.4 | 33.4 | 36.9 |
| Divorced/Separated/Widowed (%) | 17.7 | 13.0 | 15.6 | 18.4 |
| Non-Hispanic White (%) | 69.1 | 68.0 | 65.9 | 70.2 |
| Non-Hispanic Black (%) | 15.9 | 16.3 | 18.3 | 15.0 |
| Hispanic (%) | 10.6 | 11.7 | 11.1 | 10.5 |
| Other race (%) | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.3 |
| Living in a metro area (%) | 74.1 | 72.8 | 76.4 | 73.3 |
| Observations | 56,707 | 2,048,649 | 13,564 | 43,143 |
[i] Note: The weighted means are based on American Community Survey Data. Individuals are restricted to those who are US citizens and who have completed high school but haven’t completed bachelor’s degree yet. Information on whether veterans are newly separated is not available after 2012.
Figure 1
SNAP Participation Rates, ACS 2005–2012.
Note: The data points above are based on the ACS data, 2005–2012.
Figure 2
College Enrollment Rates and Proportions with Associate Degree.
Note: The data points above are based on the ACS data, 2005–2012.
Table 2
College and SNAP Enrollment Rates, Age 23–40 (ACS 2006–2012).
| IN COLLEGE? → | YES | NO | YES | NO | YES | N/A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IN SNAP? → | NO | YES | YES | NO | N/A | YES |
| OUTCOMES | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | IN COLLEGE | IN SNAP |
| YEAR 2006–2012 | ||||||
| Veteran | 23.6% | 8.8% | 2.8% | 64.9% | 26.3% | 11.6% |
| New Veteran | 24.0% | 5.4% | 1.6% | 69.0% | 25.6% | 7.0% |
| Long-term Veteran | 23.4% | 10.0% | 3.2% | 63.4% | 26.6% | 13.2% |
| Non-Veteran | 10.0% | 15.1% | 2.3% | 72.7% | 12.3% | 17.3% |
| YEAR 2006–2009 (BEFORE POST-9/11 GI BILL) | ||||||
| Veteran | 22.5% | 7.0% | 1.8% | 68.6% | 24.4% | 8.9% |
| New Veteran | 22.2% | 4.8% | 1.0% | 72.0% | 23.2% | 5.8% |
| Long-term Veteran | 22.7% | 7.9% | 2.2% | 67.3% | 24.8% | 10.1% |
| Non-Veteran | 9.8% | 12.3% | 1.7% | 76.3% | 11.4% | 14.0% |
| YEAR 2010–2012 (AFTER POST-9/11 GI BILL) | ||||||
| Veteran | 24.6% | 10.5% | 3.7% | 61.3% | 28.3% | 14.2% |
| New Veteran | 26.0% | 6.1% | 2.3% | 65.6% | 28.3% | 8.4% |
| Long-term Veteran | 24.1% | 11.9% | 4.1% | 59.9% | 28.2% | 16.0% |
| Non-Veteran | 10.3% | 18.8% | 3.1% | 67.8% | 13.4% | 21.9% |
Table 3
SNAP Participation and College Enrollment Rates (SIPP 2008 Panel).
| VETERAN STATUS | AGE 23–40 HS GRAD | AGE 23–64 HS GRAD | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IN SNAP | IN COLLEGE | IN SNAP | IN COLLEGE | |
| Before (May 2008–Aug. 2009) | ||||
| Veteran | 3.9% | 16.7% | 2.7% | 5.4% |
| Non-Veteran | 9.5% | 12.6% | 6.9% | 6.9% |
| After (Sep. 2009–Dec. 2012) | ||||
| Veteran | 6.0% | 19.2% | 4.6% | 6.4% |
| Non-Veteran | 13.1% | 14.3% | 10.1% | 7.6% |
| Overall (May 2008–Dec. 2012) | ||||
| Veteran | 5.4% | 18.5% | 4.0% | 6.3% |
| Non-Veteran | 12.2% | 13.9% | 9.3% | 7.5% |
[i] Note: Table shows the sample weighted means based on monthly data across all individual veterans and non-veterans in the listed age range who are high school graduates but without bachelor’s degree.
Figure 3
SNAP Participation Rates, SIPP 2008 Panel.
Note: The data points above are based on the SIPP data, 2008–2012.
Table 4
Difference-in-Difference Models of SNAP Participation (ACS Data).
| VARIABLES | LINEAR PROBABILITY MODELS (LPM) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AGE 23–40 | AGE 23–40 | AGE 23–40 (HEAD HH) | AGE 23–40 (INCOME ELIG.) | AGE 23–29 | AGE 30–40 | AGE 23–49 | |
| Post (Year>2009)*Veteran | –0.025*** (0.006) | ||||||
| Post*Veteran (Separated >1 Year Before) | –0.014** (0.006) | –0.014** (0.006) | –0.027** (0.012) | –0.011 (0.009) | –0.022*** (0.007) | –0.012** (0.006) | |
| Post (Year>2009)*Veteran (Newly Separated) | –0.057*** (0.006) | –0.056*** (0.007) | –0.037** (0.016) | –0.053*** (0.007) | –0.071*** (0.008) | –0.052*** (0.005) | |
| Veteran | –0.033** (0.014) | ||||||
| Veteran (Separated >1 Year Before) | –0.023 (0.014) | –0.015 (0.012) | –0.012 (0.022) | –0.017 (0.016) | –0.022 (0.014) | –0.023** (0.012) | |
| Veteran (Newly Separated) | –0.049*** (0.013) | –0.048*** (0.011) | –0.068*** (0.022) | –0.045*** (0.015) | –0.043*** (0.013) | –0.048*** (0.011) | |
| Post (Year>2009) | 0.087*** (0.018) | 0.087*** (0.018) | 0.073*** (0.015) | 0.119*** (0.026) | 0.096*** (0.019) | 0.083*** (0.017) | 0.077*** (0.017) |
| Observations | 2,105,356 | 2,105,356 | 1,393,778 | 951,348 | 848,625 | 1,256,731 | 3,428,569 |
[i] Note: The model for Head HH is restricted to individuals who are either Household Head or Spouse of Household Head. Model in 4th column is for those who meet SNAP income eligibility. All specifications include the following covariates: age, sex, number of children (overall and under age 5), marital status, race, metropolitan status, year fixed effects, unemployment rate, and interaction of veteran status and unemployment rate. * p < 0.10; ** p < 0.05; *** p < 0.01.
Table 5
Difference-in-Difference Models of SNAP Participation (SIPP Data).
| LPM – SNAP (AGE 23–40) | LPM – SNAP (AGE 23–49) | |
|---|---|---|
| Post (Month>Aug. 2009)*Veteran | –0.017*** (0.003) | –0.019*** (0.002) |
| Post (Month>Aug. 2009) | 0.036*** (0.001) | 0.031*** (0.001) |
| Veteran | –0.029*** (0.006) | –0.020*** (0.004) |
| Observations | 609,034 | 963,587 |
[i] Note: The linear probability models (LPM) also include the following covariates: age, sex, number of children, race, marital and metropolitan status, year fixed effects, unemployment rate, and interaction of veteran status and unemployment rate. Standard errors are in parentheses. * p < 0.10; ** p < 0.05; *** p < 0.01.
Table 6
Impact of the Post-9/11 GI Bill on College Enrollment and SNAP Participation Rates (ACS Data).
| IN COLLEGE? → | YES | NO | YES | NO | YES | N/A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IN SNAP? → | NO | YES | YES | NO | N/A | YES |
| OUTCOMES | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | IN COLLEGE | IN SNAP |
| Veteran | ||||||
| DID Effect | 0.026** | –0.028** | 0.006** | –0.004 | 0.032** | –0.022** |
| Std. Error | (0.004) | (0.003) | (0.001) | (0.004) | (0.004) | (0.004) |
| Long-term Veteran | ||||||
| DID Effect | 0.026** | –0.021** | 0.008** | –0.013** | 0.034** | –0.013** |
| Std. Error | (0.005) | (0.003) | (0.001) | (0.005) | (0.006) | (0.004) |
| New Veteran | ||||||
| DID Effect | 0.031** | –0.042** | –0.003 | 0.014 | 0.029** | –0.045** |
| Std. Error | (0.011) | (0.004) | (0.002) | (0.011) | (0.011) | (0.005) |
[i] Note: The table shows estimated differences in predicted probabilities based on Bivariate Probit model.