Dean Jolliffe & James P Ziliak 
Income Volatility and Food Assistance in the United States [PDF ebook] 

Income volatility-month-to-month swings in a household’s income-impacts a number of sectors of the macroeconomy, including labor markets, housing markets, and financial markets. It also makes it difficult to devise policy that will guide the administration of food assistance programs. Families tend to shift in and out of programs, and policymakers must define eligibility rules that work for this population. The papers in this volume provide much-needed focus and in-depth coverage of the effect of income volatility on the participation in and design of food assistance programs such as the Food Stamp Program and the National School Lunch Program.