Maximizing the Expected Food Stamp Program Participation from Informational Outreach Programs

GAO (1988) reports that approximately one-half of the eligible nonparticipants did not think they were eligible nonparticipants did not think they were eligible for the Food Stamp Program (FSP). These nonparticipants are denoted as "outreach households". Past studies (GAO, 1990. Coe) imply that programs designed to inform households of their eligibility (informational outreach programs) be directed at groups with the greatest number of outreach households. This paper illustrates that the economically efficient use of informational outreach expenditures may require concentrating outreach efforts on groups of households with fewer but more responsive uninformed nonparticipants.