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IZA Discussion Paper No. 18873
August 2026
Who Benefits from Digitizing Public Programs?
Neil Cholli, Derek Wu

Governments increasingly digitize access to public programs, but it remains unclear who benefits. Using administrative microdata from Virginia, we study the impact of an online portal that streamlined SNAP, Medicaid, and TANF applications. Among children and non-elderly adults, the portal raised enrollment by 1.7–2.0% for every ten miles between their residence and local program office. Yet it had no detectable effect on the elderly, despite their lower participation and comparable enrollment barriers. Predicted digital access accounts for 84% of the variation in effects across these groups, showing that digitization can expand access while excluding vulnerable groups like the elderly.

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Mark Fallak
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World of Labour
Olga Nottmeyer
olga.nottmeyer-ext@liser.lu
+352 585-855-501
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Christina Gathmann
christina.gathmann@liser.lu

The IZA@LISER Network is a global community of scholars dedicated to excellence in labor economics and related fields, now coordinated at the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) following its transition from Bonn.

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