Let me inform you of the following research seminar.

Date: August 8  (Fri.)  , 2025 
Time:2:30PM-4:00PM
Venue: 11th Floor, Bldg.No.2 Meeting Room B
Speaker: Yichen (Joshua) Shen   (Kanagawa University of Human Services) 
Organizer: Takuya Hasebe
Language: English

Title:
Minimum Wages and Crime: Evidence from 2008's Reform in Japan
Abstract:
This study investigates the causal impact of 2008’s minimum wage reform in Japan on crime using a difference-in-difference approach. In contrast to the existing study that showed the minimum wage leads to crime, we showed that the reform does not affect violent crime in Japan, but it reduced the property crime following the reform. We also performed heterogeneity analyses and showed that it was driven by break-in and autotheft which is the most profitable crime, suggesting that income is an important factor in mediating the relationship. Our results implied to policymakers the potential unintended benefits of raising minimum wages in Japan.