Vince Hopkins
Vince Hopkins is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia. His research centers on Canadian politics and applied social policy, with a particular focus on the low take-up of government programs, examining how political and psychological barriers prevent citizens from accessing the services they need. His current work aims to improve the take-up of employment and integration services among jobseekers, youth, and newcomers, using field experiments and behavioral interventions to enhance the lived experience of low-income and marginalized people in Canada.
Vince has 10+ years’ experience using behavioral and data science to improve policy. He has worked as a Senior Behavioural Scientist for the British Columbia Government. Before that, he worked as a Policy Analyst with the Government of Canada.
Selected Publications
Hopkins, V., Lawlor, A., & Paquet, M. (2026). How Do Immigration Policies Affect Voter Support for Low-Skilled Immigrants? Evidence from a Survey Experiment. (external link) International Migration Review, 60(1), 469-494.
Schimpf, C. H., Hopkins, V., Fisher, P. B., & Dorion, J. (2025). Behaviorally informed interventions can increase take-up of public employment services, but conversion remains challenging: insights from an RCT in British Columbia, Canada (external link) . Behavioural Public Policy, 1–13.
Hopkins, V., & Dorion, J. (2024). Nudging increases take-up of employment services: Evidence from a large field experiment (external link) . Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 43, 1209–1228.