Could the timing of food assistance payments affect crime rates?
Wiley
Based on more than a decade’s worth of data across 36 U.S. states, a study in Contemporary Economic Policy finds that spreading out food assistance payments over more days reduces financially motivated crimes—especially robberies.
Compared with a single-day lump-sum monthly distribution through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a disbursement schedule consisting of 15 or more distribution days was associated with a decline of 0.03 robbery incidents per 100,000 population. Similarly, when SNAP distribution was staggered across 15 or more days, the incidence of robbery also declined by 0.03 incidents per 100,000 population.
The study’s investigator estimated that an extended SNAP distribution schedule could potentially generate a benefit of $2.7 million in crime reduction in the United States over 1 year.
These findings offer a practical, cost-effective policy for improving community safety.
“Changing the SNAP benefit schedule is a nearly free policy change that could have enormous public benefits,” said corresponding author Licheng Xu, PhD, of Beijing Normal University, who conducted much of this work while earning his graduate degree in agricultural economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/coep.70005
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About the Journal
First published in 1982, Contemporary Economic Policy publishes scholarly research and analysis on important policy issues facing society. The journal provides insight into the complexity of policy decisions and communicates evidence-based solutions in a form accessible to economists and policy makers. Contemporary Economic Policy provides a forum for debate by enhancing our understanding of key issues and methods used for policy analysis.
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Journal
Contemporary Economic Policy
Article Title
Timing of SNAP disbursement and crime incidence in the United States
Article Publication Date
6-Aug-2025
New European toolkit launched by EU agencies to help eliminate viral hepatitis B and C in prisons
The European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have jointly produced a European toolkit for the elimination of viral hepatitis in prisons.
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
The new toolkit is designed to support the implementation and scale-up of hepatitis B and C interventions in prisons across Europe. It also reinforces the principle of ‘equivalence of care’, ensuring that people in prison receive healthcare comparable to that available in the community.
People in prison experience higher levels of viral hepatitis than the general population, making them a key group for targeted prevention and treatment. In Europe, individuals entering prison are also more likely to have a history of injecting drug use — a major risk factor for hepatitis B and C virus transmission. Sharing of injecting equipment and other risk factors — such as unsafe tattooing or body piercing practices, sharing of razors and unprotected sex — make prisons a priority setting for targeted viral hepatitis prevention and treatment interventions.
Short sentences and repeat incarcerations mean that same group of people often move between prison and the community. For this reason, tackling health problems such as viral hepatitis in prison settings can also deliver health benefits to the wider community by driving down the overall disease burden and preventing future transmission of infections. This is known as the ‘community dividend’.
The toolkit consists of four key sections: background, strategy development, strategy implementation and monitoring and evaluation. It includes links to relevant public health guidance, and practical tools to understand the context, and define and implement an elimination strategy inside prisons. Examples from prisons in Germany, Spain, France, Italy and Luxembourg, are provided, illustrating models of care.
In the toolkit, the EUDA and ECDC provide practical, evidence-based information for those working in prison healthcare on how to set up interventions to prevent and control viral hepatitis in these settings.
The information is also likely to be relevant to other audiences, including policymakers, security staff, people living in prison, peer support workers, and voluntary workers. Further support for people working in prison healthcare will be available in the form of dedicated training sessions provided by EUDA and ECDC in the coming months to facilitate the effective implementation of the toolkit and scale-up of services.
Article Title
New European toolkit launched by EU agencies to help eliminate viral hepatitis B and C in prisons
Article Publication Date
6-Aug-2025
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