Publications
The Hamilton Project produces and commissions policy proposals and analyses to promote broad-based economic growth by embracing a significant role for well-designed government policies and public investment.
Papers
A primer on SNAP work requirements
An explainer on work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) summarizes the research on work requirements and their efficacy.
Economic Security & Inequality
Employment & Wages
Social Insurance
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Posts
Work permit applications suggest prior immigration is still pushing up labor supply—for now
Employment & Wages
Immigration
Posts
Higher new Census population estimates will affect the employment report
Employment & Wages
Immigration
Posts
Low-income workers experience—by far—the most earnings and work hours instability
Economic Security & Inequality
Employment & Wages
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Incomes have crashed. How much has unemployment insurance helped?
The rapid contraction of the economy this spring has shattered records for the speed of onset of a recession. One of the most economically important pieces of …
Who stands to lose if the final SNAP work requirement rule takes effect?
This interactive allows users to find out how many people and SNAP households lived in places that would have lost the protection of a SNAP work requirement wa…
How to bolster UI in response to COVID-19
Ryan Nunn argues that in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UI system requires a number of reforms to support families and the broader economy.
Food security is economic security is economic stimulus
Lauren Bauer and Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach detail policy responses tailored to the COVID-19 pandemic to support food security, particularly for households wi…
New SNAP rule change just made it harder to combat future recessions
The final rule on work requirement waivers, released on December 4, 2019, weakens SNAP's role as an automatic stabilizer and a critical element of the safe…
Direct stimulus payments to individuals
Consumer spending, which makes up about 70 percent of aggregate expenditures in the economy, slows sharply during recessions. This slowdown can exacerbate empl…
Unemployment insurance and macroeconomic stabilization
Low recipiency rates and an imperfect Extended Benefits program weaken the unemployment insurance program’s effectiveness during recessions. Gabriel Chodorow-R…
Improving TANF’s countercyclicality through increased basic assistance and subsidized jobs
The design of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program prevents it from providing sufficient assistance to families with children during econ…
