Literature v3 · Research topic
Does Food Stamps Help More Kids Graduate in Cities or Small Towns?
Using free data from the Census and USDA, you can find out if counties with more families on food stamps also have higher graduation rates—and whether that link is stronger in big cities or rural areas.
Why this matters
Imagine a county where one in four families relies on SNAP to put food on the table. Does that safety net help children climb the economic ladder, or does its effect depend on whether they live in a bustling city or a remote rural town? Using free public data from the Census and USDA, you can explore this question and uncover patterns that shape millions of lives.
Project scores
Difficulty
This project involves analyzing large-scale public datasets (Census and USDA) to explore the relationship between SNAP enrollment and high school graduation rates. You will need to merge datasets, handle missing data, and perform statistical analysis (e.g., regression) to examine variation by rural-urban classification. Expect to spend 8 weeks on data cleaning, analysis, and writing. Prerequisites
3 of 5 difficulty
Strengths
- Uses real-world, publicly available data to address a policy-relevant question
- Examines heterogeneity across rural-urban areas, adding nuance
- Replicates a published study, providing a clear methodological framework
Skills built
Zero-cost data
Zero-cost dataResearch gap
Imagine a county where one in four families relies on SNAP to put food on the table. Does that safety net help children climb the economic ladder, or does its effect depend on whether they live in a bustling city or a remote rural town? Using free public data from the Census and USDA, you can explore this question and uncover patterns that shape millions of lives.
Curriculum alignment
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