Asset Poverty

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While a number of studies have used asset indicators to provide a richer characterization of who the poor are, this paper concentrates on approaches that use asset information in conjunction with insights from economic theory to gain additional insight into why the poor are poor and whether their material situation is likely change over time. The paper also argues that the same analytical devices that permit insight into these questions can be used for the design of durable and cost-effective… more

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Low-wage jobs can be unstable, leaving families struggling to cope with employment gaps and financial emergencies that can strike without warning. About four in five low-income families are "asset poor," lacking enough liquid savings to live for three months at the federal poverty level without earnings. In this essay, McKernan and Ratcliffe suggest a cluster of policies that would improve financial markets and savings opportunities for low-income families across the life cycle.

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The association between cultural orientation and material outcomes is fundamental to sociology research. This article contributes to the understanding of this relationship by exploring how religious affiliation affects wealth ownership for conservative Protestants (CPs). The results demonstrate that religion affects wealth indirectly through educational attainment, fertility, and female labor force participation. The results also provide evidence of a direct effect of religion on wealth. Low rates of asset accumulation and unique economic values combine to reduce CP wealth beyond the… more

This report provides key findings from case studies developed on 14 Assets for Independence (AFI)-funded individual development account (IDA) projects. IDAs are personal savings accounts targeted to low-income persons that encourage participants to save for specific types of assets by providing matching funds when the accountholder makes withdrawals for an allowable asset purchase.

Saving enables individual households to meet unforeseen expenses and to plan for their financial futures. Not surprisingly, low- and moderate-income (LMI) households have the most difficulty saving. There is a common perception that banks do not view LMI households as potential profitable customers, but banks already have a relationship with a large number of these customers. This article explains the challenges LMI households face in building assets and examines the incentives banks have for encouraging these customers to save. The article also… more

According to the federal government, elderly poverty rates among blacks are nearly triple and among Hispanics are more than double those of whites. Data from the 2004 Health and Retirement Study on adults age 65 and older, living alone or with only a spouse, show how assets, which are excluded from the official poverty measure, change elderly poverty overall and between racial/ethnic groups. Adding imputed housing rent and annuitized asset values to resources reduced overall poverty by 1.8 percentage points,… more