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Ron Kneebone

@ronkneebone.bsky.social

722 followers 413 following 161 posts

Economist Interested in policy responses to homelessness, poverty, domestic violence, and, for a change of pace, government finances. Google scholar: scholar.google.ca/citations?user=RU…

Posts Replies Media

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Being charged with a criminal offence involving domestic violence often follows years of interactions with police. Observing patterns of police contact before that criminal charge, we reveal that for the majority of men, 1/3 spp.ucalgary.ca/sites/defaul...

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

How long do people remain in homeless shelters? Not long. In a report released today, I show that in Calgary 30% of people new to the homeless shelter system stay just that one night. Two-thirds stay for 10 nights or less. 1/3 spp.ucalgary.ca/sites/defaul...

spp.ucalgary.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

The other day an "influencer" suggested immigrants be sent away b/c what they pay in income tax does not cover the cost of Alberta govt expenditures. Here's a graph of provincial program spending versus income tax revenue. No Albertan pays in income tax anywhere near the cost of public services.

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

After a summer hiatus, Rita Wilkins and I are back with our monthly edition of Social Policy Trends. This month, we report on how the risk of homelessness depends on where one lives. 1/2 spp.ucalgary.ca/sites/defaul...

spp.ucalgary.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Yeah, I’m eating your tree, what are you going to do about it?

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Policy approaches to prevent homelessness requires a measure of what income leaves one at greatest risk. Colleague Rita Wilkins and I are pleased that our HICO measure is being used in a proposal for a new Housing Benefit. caeh.ca/transforming...

Transforming the Canada Housing Benefit to Prevent Homelessness

The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness is proposing a transformed Canada Housing Benefit that could reduce homelessness by more than 60%.

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Contrary to some recent suggestions, Alberta does not have bear unreasonable costs -- either absolutely or in comparison to other provinces -- from providing social assistance. www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u... @vibrantcalgary.bsky.social

policyschool.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Do you actually have something useful to say about homelessness? Great! Then come say it at the 9th Annual Data That Makes A Difference conference, May 27 and 28 in Calgary. @policyschool.bsky.social mailchi.mp/calgaryhomel...

Data That Makes a Difference – Call for Presenters!

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Every New Year's Eve I remind myself of this passage from The Dead and think of those I have lost. This year, it was my Mom.

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

This month, Social Policy Trends looks back on the work we have done during 2025. The social safety net is intended to catch people before they fall too far or too hard and in this way give them a chance to recover. 1/2 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

policyschool.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

This month Social Policy Trends reminds us that anti-poverty initiatives and policies to encourage employment growth are both effective ways of reducing poverty. Pursuing one strategy to the exclusion of the other can leave important gains unrealized. www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

policyschool.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

After a short hiatus, Social Policy Trends is back! This month we describe how the housing crisis impacts the victims of domestic violence and the organizations that provide them with temporary shelter. 1/4 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

policyschool.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

How do we know when someone is at very high risk of homelessness? Compare their income to the Homelessness Income Cut Off. homelesshub.ca/blog/2025/ho...

The Homelessness Income Cut-Off (HICO): A New Benchmark to Prevent Homelessness in Canada | HomelessHub

The Homelessness Income Cut-Off (HICO) redefines how we identify and respond to housing vulnerability, shifting our focus from poverty in general to the specific point at which people become homeless.

Reposted by Ron Kneebone

Courtney Theriault @ctheriault.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Immigration expert Robert Falconer says Alberta’s immigration survey is vague on which services could be withheld and could include essentials like health care. He says it may have “serious implications" and that the term "non-citizen" could even mean PR holders podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/s...

podcasts.apple.com

Should Alberta withhold social services for immigrants?

Podcast Episode · The Courtney Theriault Show · 2025-06-25 · 9m

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

For those who like their policy studies in bite-sized pieces, today the social policy research team at the School of Public Policy has released a one-page description of a key result from a recent research paper. This is part of our Social Policy Trends series. 🧵 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

policyschool.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Today, we released a study linking two administrative datasets, one describing the use of food banks, the other describing the use of homeless shelters. 🧵 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

policyschool.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

My mom passed away yesterday. She was 98. A hottie nurse in her day.

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

This month, Social Policy Trends looks at the extent to which Canadian governments provide inflation protection for families dependent upon social assistance. Short 🧵 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

policyschool.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

A two word suggestion to the person leaving an insulting message on my voicemail but too cowardly to leave their name:

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

Taking time off to help my mother live out what may be her last days. Today she told me she wished she could feel the sun on her face. Leaping into action, I got her nurses, Armand and Fred to sling her into wheelchair so I could take her outside, to feel the sun for maybe the last time. 1/3

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

Going to stretch my legs walking down, and then back up 😬, the Hamilton “mountain”.

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Not a good look for the CBC to include a Liberal party hack on its discussion desk. He’s embarrassing.

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Oops

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

Got to say I am finding it hard to find any commentary on this platform that does not think every solution to an economic problem in Canada involves a larger federal government presence. Not all solutions are found with government and the few that are are not found at the federal level.

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

The affordability of housing is closely related to local conditions and local regulations. This is not a problem with a federal government solution. www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

policyschool.ca

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Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

This month, Social Policy Trends looks at research by my team at the School of Public Policy on how weather conditions affect people living in encampments (often referred to as rough sleepers). 🧵 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

policyschool.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

You're almost out of time to buy early bird (cheap!) tickets for the Data That Makes A Difference Conference in May! We have a great line up of speakers. I'll be speaking on how we might use data from food banks to predict future rates of homelessness. Join us! www.showpass.com/data-that-ma...

Data That Makes A Difference - 906 8 Ave SW - Calgary - May 28, 2025

Calgary Homeless Foundation and The School of Public Policy invite you to the 8th Annual Data That Makes a Difference. This two-day national conference brings together data professionals, service deli...

Reposted by Ron Kneebone

Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 12/03/2025

"Top officials of our oldest allies say privately they fear that we are becoming not just unstable, but actually their enemy. The only person who gets treated with kid gloves is Putin, and America’s traditional friends are in shock."

Opinion | A Great Unraveling Is Underway (Gift Article)

Trump’s foreign policy philosophy is not “containment” or “engagement,” but “smash and grab.”

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Have you bought your ticket yet? Why not? Get on it, eh? www.showpass.com/data-that-ma...

Data That Makes A Difference - 906 8 Ave SW - Calgary - May 28, 2025

Calgary Homeless Foundation and The School of Public Policy invite you to the 8th Annual Data That Makes a Difference. This two-day national conference brings together data professionals, service deli...

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

This month, Social Policy Trends reports on preliminary results of our on-going research into how best to respond to domestic violence. Our research agenda stresses there are opportunities to intervene prior to the violence occurring. 1/2 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

policyschool.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

This month, Social Policy Trends describes and provides measures of the Homelessness Income Cut Off (HICO). 🧵 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

policyschool.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

It is inconceivable to me that there can be that many morally corrupt people in the upper echelons of the US government. Morally corrupt or just cowards, not sure which.

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Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Do you know how to use data to better inform public policies and best practices with respect to homelessness? Prove it! Submit a proposal for presentation at the 8th Annual Data That Makes A Difference conference in Calgary this coming May. www.calgaryhomeless.com/dtmad/

calgaryhomeless.com

Data That Makes A Difference - Calgary Homeless Foundation

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

Hyman Roth was wrong. It's not Cuba that offers a future for gangsters wanting to be free of the Justice Department and the FBI. It's the USA. "Think about the possibilities. No more enemies. Partnership with a government and having the cash to make it possible."

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

I feel so fortunate to have received my academic training, to have enjoyed a career, and to have lived during a time when honesty and decency was expected. I’m afraid a hard rain is going to fall on young people hoping to enjoy the same.

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

Great discussion of an important but data-challenged problem.

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

It's wild trying to revise a textbook on the principles of economics when the leadership of the country that is purportedly the most dedicated to the primacy of free markets shows complete and utter ignorance of the most basic principles of economics. What are students to think?

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Social Policy Trends is a (mostly) monthly publication highlighting an interesting issue of social policy. Today, we release our 2024 Holiday Issue. It describes how some social trends are sensitive to the arrival of the holiday season. 🧵 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

policyschool.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

This month, Social Policy Trends reports on the age profiles of men who will eventually be charged with a crime involving domestic violence. These men come in all ages. What distinguishes them is not their age but the number of prior interactions with police. 1/2 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

policyschool.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Another favourite old issue of Social Policy Trends: This one from April 2021. It shows "crowding"-- the number of people living in a rental unit -- increases with rent. This may be people looking for roommates to help cover the cost or 1/2 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

policyschool.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

Are public policies of income support adequate for keeping people in housing and so out of homeless shelters? In a report released today, Margarita Wilkins and I address that question by providing estimates of the Homelessness Income Cut Off. #homelessness🧵 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

policyschool.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Back in the day when I taught senior level courses in macroeconomics, I presented models to my students that emphasized that the impacts of policy changes depend on the credibility of the policymaker and whether the policymaker announced their policy intentions ahead of time. 1/5

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Social Policy Trends is a short discussion of facts or trends in issues relevant for social policy. It (usually) appears monthly. This month, Social Policy Trends looks at the ratio of Canadian provincial government spending on ... 🧵 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

policyschool.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

It helps to think about what someone is saying and to allow for the possibility they are not stupid before commenting. If after doing so you think they are wrong, try explaining why. It makes for a conversation that can be both enjoyable and enlightening. Still not seeing much of that here.

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

As I transition to this new site, I am posting some of my favourite Social Policy Trends. This is from 2021. In an average month, over one-quarter of emergency shelter beds are filled by people experiencing sheltered homelessness for the first time. 1/2 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

policyschool.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 11/11/2024

One more Social Policy Trends from earlier this year. This one did not grab a lot of attention but I find it interesting and important. What's the plan for the next pandemic when we need lots of hospital beds again? Anyone thinking about this? www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

policyschool.ca

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 11/11/2024

Trying to anticipate bad social outcomes so that we might intervene to prevent them is a theme of our recent research on domestic violence. It turns out that most perpetrators of crimes involving domestic violence have increasingly frequent interactions with policy just prior to the charge.

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 11/11/2024

From January 2024, this Social Policy Trends looked at food bank use in Toronto. Yikes. www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 11/11/2024

Bluesky is coming to life. Time for me to contribute. I am going to post some issues from our monthly Social Policy Trends series previously posted on X. They are intended to raise questions and make people think about social issues. Here's one from March. www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

Ron Kneebone @ronkneebone.bsky.social · 27/02/2024

Does anything make a difference anymore? Yes! Join us for the 7th Annual DTMAD Conference and learn how data is being used to better understand homelessness and develop effective responses. datathatmakesadifference.com