Last updated on 11/25/23.
Dissertation (Successfully Defended on December 3, 2021):
Title:
Essays on Food Insecurity and Food and Nutrition Assistance Policy in the United States
Reading Committee:
Jacob L. Vigdor (Chair; Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, University of Washington)
Rachel Fyall (Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, University of Washington)
Caroline Weber (Martin School of Public Policy and Administration, University of Kentucky)
Peer-Reviewed Publications:
Charnes, Sarah E. (2022). “Household Disability Status, Food Store Choice, and Food Insecurity in the United States.” Physiology & Behavior, 244: 113663.
Abstract:
Disability is a known risk factor for food insecurity, even when accounting for household income. However, the mechanisms driving the relationship between disability and food insecurity remain underexplored. Using the National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey, I test the extent to which food store choice (representing food access) mediates the association between disability and food insecurity in the United States. The analysis is complicated by the notion that food insecurity also influences food store choice. Nevertheless, multivariate regression findings suggest that food access is not a significant driver of high rates of food insecurity among households where disabilities are present.
Allard, Scott W. and Paisner, Sarah Charnes (2016). “The Rise of Suburban Poverty.” Oxford University Press Handbooks Online.
Abstract:
This article examines the suburbanization of poverty in metropolitan areas with a particular focus on the experience of the United States. The discussion highlights key trends and likely causes of suburban poverty and provides an overview of various attempts to classify heterogeneity across suburbs. We believe the trends and consequences observed in the United States are relevant to a broad host of global settings, some of which have been struggling with high rates of suburban poverty for some time. The article closes by identifying gaps in current knowledge related to the suburbanization of poverty and highlighting the implications of the suburbanization of poverty for safety net policy.
Krueger, Alan B. and Charnes, Sarah (2011). “JOLTS as a Timely Source of Data by Establishment Size.” Monthly Labor Review.
Abstract:
Following the financial crisis of 2008, unofficial tabulations of Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data were the most timely government source of information on employment trends by establishment size; this article discusses how JOLTS data can be used to shed light on employment patterns among small businesses and also evaluates the accuracy of the JOLTS data on small establishments.
Presented at the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) Symposium, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, DC, December 10, 2010.
Received the Lawrence R. Klein Award, May 2012, for exhibiting original methods of analysis and adhering to the principles of scientific inquiry in writing an outstanding technical article in the Monthly Labor Review.
Job Market Paper:
Charnes, Sarah E. “The Impact of Application Streamlining on Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.”
Abstract:
Previous studies debate the extent to which administrative barriers inhibit take-up of means-tested programs. I study two application streamlining initiatives intended to simplify the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) application process in the United States through the reduction of transaction and information costs. The two initiatives differ along the dimension of in-person versus mail-based interactions with clients. Using two-way fixed effects and alternative difference-in-difference estimators, I estimate an overall 4.3 percentage point (19.3 percent) average treatment effect of application streamlining on SNAP participation. Further analysis of the two implementation models suggests a stronger effect of in-person interactions with clients (25.8 percent), compared to off-site outreach (15.2 percent). However, different approaches appear to be more effective for different eligible populations: there is suggestive evidence that off-site outreach could have a stronger effect for population subgroups experiencing mobility-related barriers to take-up. As such, this study points to the importance of understanding the behaviors and barriers to take-up experienced by specific target populations when designing initiatives intended to improve enrollment in means-tested programs.
Articles in Preparation:
Charnes, Sarah E. “Acquisitions of Free Food Across the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefit Cycle.”
Abstract:
The disbursement of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits is associated with a decline in food spending and caloric consumption over the SNAP month, resulting in a range of adverse consequences. However, there is a lack of consensus about the underlying cause of the SNAP benefit cycle. Building upon work conducted by Tiehen, Newman, and Kirlin (2017), I use the National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey to examine SNAP households’ acquisitions of free food patterns across the SNAP month. I conclude that a steady state of free food acquisitions across the month is primarily attributable to benefit inadequacy.
Charnes, Sarah E. “An Analysis of Participation by Young Adults in the U.S. Social Safety Net."
Charnes, Sarah E. “The Effect of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s Work Requirement on Household Food Insecurity.”
Conference Activity and Invited Talks:
Presenter, Poster: “An Analysis of Participation by Young Adults in the U.S. Social Safety Net.” Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) Fall Conference, Atlanta, GA, November 9-11, 2023.
Discussant, Panel: Policy and Outreach Strategies to Improve Enrollment in Coverage. American Society of Health Economists (ASHEcon) Annual Conference, St. Louis, MO, June 11-14, 2023.
Chair, Panel: Beyond COVID: The New Politics of the Safety Net. Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) Fall Conference, Washington, DC, November 17-19, 2022.
Discussant, Panel: Impacts of COVID-19 and Medicaid Expansion on Immigrants & Refugees. Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) Fall Conference, Washington, DC, November 17-19, 2022.
Presenter, Lunch & Learn Talk: “The Impact of Application Streamlining on Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.” Research presentation, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison, October 5, 2022.
Chair, Panel: Understanding Inequities in the Food System and Developing Policies to Address Them. Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) Fall Conference, Austin, TX, postponed to March 27-29, 2022.
Discussant, Panel: Economic Recovery from the Coronavirus Pandemic. Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) Fall Conference, Austin, TX, postponed to March 27-29, 2022.
Co-Organizer/-Moderator, Student Resources: Navigating the Academy as a Member of an Underrepresented Group. Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) Fall Conference, Washington, DC (virtual), November 11-13, 2020.
Co-Organizer/Moderator, Student Resources: Inclusive Pedagogical Practices. Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) Fall Conference, Denver, CO, November 7-9, 2019.
Presenter, “The SNAP Benefit Payment Cycle and the Acquisition of Free Food.” Panel paper presentation, Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) Fall Conference, Denver, CO, November 7-9, 2019.
Presenter, “The Impact of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Time Limits on Household Food Insecurity.” Research presentation, Evans School of Public Policy and Governance Research Seminar Series, June 5, 2019.
Presenter, “The Impact of SNAP Time Limits on Household Food Insecurity.” Research presentation, West Coast Poverty Center Seminar Series on Poverty and Public Policy, University of Washington (School of Social Work), November 19, 2018.
Presenter, “Evaluating the Link Between ABAWD Work Requirements and Household Food Insecurity Status.” Panel paper presentation, Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) Fall Conference, Washington, DC, November 8-10, 2018.
Presenter, “Exploring Household Food Outcomes Among Vulnerable Subpopulations.” (Conference paper co-authored with Scott W. Allard.) Panel paper presentation, Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) Fall Conference, Washington, DC, November 8-10, 2018.
Presenter, “Food Insecurity, Food Store Choice, and Food Shopping Behaviors of Disabled U.S. Households.” (Conference paper co-authored with Scott W. Allard.) Panel paper presentation, Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) California Regional Student Conference, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA, March 9-10, 2018.
Research Assistance and Training:
Co-Investigator (2017-2021)
“Exploring Household Food Outcomes Among the Elderly, the Disabled, and Residents of Suburban and Rural Communities.” Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. Provides access to restricted-use National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS). (With Scott W. Allard, Principal Investigator)
Research Fellow (Academic Year 2016-17; Summer 2017)
Northwest Applied Public Policy Lab (NWAPPL), University of Washington
Supervisors: Jacob L. Vigdor and Jennifer J. Otten
Certificate of Completion, Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research (IQMR; June 2016)
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University
Research Assistant (Summer 2016)
Supervisor: Scott W. Allard
Research Assistant (Academic Year 2014-15; Summer 2015)
Supervisor: Scott W. Allard