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Economics Speaker Series: Dr. Kevin Schnepel
March 14 at 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
The Economics Speaker Series continues on March 14th with a presentation by Dr. Kevin Schnepel, Associate Professor of Economics at Simon Fraser University. 
In his talk, Dr. Schnepel will evaluate the impact of the timing of monthly income and disability assistance payments on property crime in Vancouver.
No registration is required. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Abstract
The assistance program in British Columbia is designed to pay recipients on the last Wednesday of the month preceding the intended month of use. However, the program requires a minimum of three business days between payday and the first of the month. These rules result in variation in both the timing of payments and the gap between when payments are received and when they are meant to be used.
We find that longer cycles and payments that are received further away from the first of the month are associated with an increase in property crimes. Our results suggest that moving payments closer to the first of the month could help reduce month-to-month financial hardship and decrease property crime.
