The Social Safety Net in the Wake of COVID-19
The Social Safety Net in the Wake of COVID-19
复制标题
DOI：
10.1353/eca.2020.0008
复制
发表时间：
2020-06-01
影响因子：
5.9
通讯作者：
Schanzenbach, Diane Whitmore
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Bitler, Marianne P.;Hoynes, Hilary W.;Schanzenbach, Diane Whitmore
COVID-19危机导致失业率飙升，对低收入家庭造成不成比例的影响。学校和儿童保育中心的关闭也意味着失去了免费和降价的学校餐。粮食价格急剧上涨，导致收入有限的家庭购买力下降。《家庭第一冠状病毒应对法》和《冠状病毒援助、救济和经济安全法》构成了强有力的应对措施，包括扩大失业保险（扩大资格和每周600美元的补充），一次性支付每位成年人1,200美元和每位受抚养人500美元，增加SNAP支付，以及启动大流行EBT计划以取代失去的学校膳食。尽管做出了这些努力，但实时数据显示了重大的痛苦-值得注意的是，粮食不安全率比COVID-19前增加了近三倍，食品储藏室的使用也激增。在本文中，我们将探讨为什么尽管有强有力的政策回应，但仍有如此多的需求未得到满足。我们提供了三个解释的证据：（1）时间救济来了一个很大的延迟，由于不堪重负的失业保险（UI）系统和需要实施新的程序;（2）数额支付以外的UI是适度的;和（3）覆盖范围的差距，访问是较低的一些群体，和其他群体的法定排除在外。
The COVID-19 crisis has led to spiking unemployment rates with disproportionate impacts on low-income families. School and child-care center closures have also meant lost free and reduced-price school meals. Food prices have increased sharply, leading to reduced purchasing power for families with limited income. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act constituted a robust response, including expansions to unemployment insurance (expansions in eligibility and a $600 per week supplement), a onetime payment of $1,200 per adult and $500 per dependent, an increase in SNAP payments, and the launch of the Pandemic EBT program to replace lost school meals. Despite these efforts, real-time data show significant distress-notably, food insecurity rates have increased almost three times over the pre-COVID-19 rates and food pantry use has also spiked. In this paper, we explore why there is so much unmet need despite a robust policy response. We provide evidence for three explanations: (1) timing-relief came with a substantial delay, due to overwhelmed unemployment insurance (UI) systems and the need to implement new programs; (2) magnitude-payments outside UI are modest; and (3) coverage gaps-access is lower for some groups, and other groups are statutorily excluded.