A Lifetime of Assets: Research Papers

As the asset building field moves forward, research plays an increasingly important role in helping to both measure our impact and spur innovation. The research sessions presented at the 2006 Assets Learning Conference—A Lifetime of Assets examined key questions in the field and reflected the growing diversity of asset building topics. From understanding the balance sheets of low-income families to analyzing the effectiveness of children's savings accounts, the research sessions all presented new findings that can lead us to develop better asset building policies, programs, and products.

I.2 International Asset Building: Australia and the United Kingdom

Sonia Sodha, Lessons from Across the Atlantic: Asset-building in the UK (PDF - 309KB)

I.3 Savings Among the Poor

Jeanne Hogarth, Amberly Hazembuller, and Michael D. Wilson, How Much Can the Poor Save? (PDF - 209KB)

Paul Ong and Varisa Patraporn, Asian American Wealth: The Role of Housing and Non Housing Assets (PDF - 70KB)

Marieka Klawitter and Diana Fletschner, Asset Building and Intra-household Decision-Making among Low-Income Families: A New Analysis using the Survey of Consumer Finances (PDF - 124KB)

I.4 How Financial Services Influence Asset Building: Understanding the Preferences of Low-Income Households

Barbara Robles, Wealth Building in Latino Communities: The Earned Income Tax Credit as a Family Asset Building Opportunity (PDF - 187KB)

Lauren Leimbach, Janice Fine, and Katy Jacob, Distributing Prepaid Debit Cards through Worker Centers: A Gateway to Asset Building for Low-Income Households (PDF - 91KB)

Michael Barr and Jane Dokko, Product Preferences for Payment Cards: Understanding Low-Income Consumers Use of Financial Services

Research Roundtable I
Asset Building among Low-Income Households: An Assessment of the Literature

Adam Carasso and Signe-Mary McKernan, The Balance Sheets of Low-Income Households: What we Know about their Assets and Liabilities (PDF - 49KB)

Robert Lerman and Signe-Mary McKernan, The Effects of Asset Building on the Economic and Social Well-Being of Families: An Assessment of the Literature (PDF - 34KB)

Reid Cramer, Signe-Mary McKernan, and Michael Sherraden, Assets and Low-Income Households: An Overview of Key Findings from the Poor Finances Series of Reports (PDF - 33KB)

II.3 The Role of Homeownership and Mortgage Credit in Building Assets

Michael Stegman, Allison Freeman, and Jong-Gyu Paik, Home Equity and Other Differences in the Wealth of Low-Income Owners and Renters (PDF - 152KB)

Michael Barr and Jane Dokko, Life on the Financial Edge: Evidence from a New Survey (PDF - 309KB)

Marsha Courchane and Peter Zorn, Consumer Literacy: What Price Perception? (PDF - 829KB)

II.4 Consumer Literacy and Financial Education

Angela C. Lyons, Lance Palmer, K.S.U. Jayaratne, and Erik Scherpf, Are We Making the Grade? A National Overview of Financial Education and Program Evaluation (PDF - 111KB)

Rebecca Haynes Bordas, D.E. Kiss, and Tansel Yilmazer, Improving Relationships with Financial Institutions: Evidence on the Effectiveness of Financial Education from a “Second Chance” Program (PDF - 197KB)

II.16 Alternative Ownership Strategies at the Local Level

Heather McCulloch, Building Assets While Building Communities: Expanding Saving and Investment Opportunities for Low-Income Residents (PDF - 437KB)

Jessica Gordon Nembhard, Alternative Asset-Building Strategies in African American Communities: Wealth Accumulation through Cooperative Ownership (PDF - 74KB)

Rick Jacobus, Limited Appreciation, Transformative Wealth (PDF - 338KB)

III.2 Asset Building for Education

Margaret Sherraden, Lissa Johnson, William Elliott, Shirley Porterfield and William Rainford, The I Can Save Program: School-Based Children's Saving Accounts for College

Margaret Clancy, Chang-Keun Han, Lisa Reyes Mason and Michael Sherraden, Inclusion in College Savings Plans: Participation and Saving in Maine's Matching Grant Program (PDF - 1.9MB)

Elizabeth Johnson and Margaret Sherraden, From Financial Literacy to Financial Capability among Youth (PDF - 269KB)

III.3 Consumer Credit, Consumer Debt: The Impact of Consumers' Credit Choices on Asset Building

Alan Berube, Matt Fellowes, and Mia Mabanta, Where is the Asset-Building Opportunity? A Profile of Credit Reports in 50 Metropolitan Areas (PDF - 287KB)

Gregory Elliehausen: Do High Price Credit Customers Know What They Are Doing? (PDF - 210KB)

III.4 Mortgage Delinquency and Asset Preservation

Ellen A. Merry and Michael D. Wilson, The Geography of Mortgage Delinquency (PDF - 969KB)

Michael Collins, Exploring the Design of Financial Counseling for Mortgage Borrowers in Default (PDF - 233KB)

Josh Silver and Marva Williams, Trends and Interventions in Asset Stripping: The Consumer Rescue Fund (PDF - 184KB)

Research Roundtable II
Tax Policy and the Federal Asset Building Budget: Reforming Policies to Assist Low-Income Families in Building Assets

David Buchholz and Lillian Woo, Subsidies for Assets: A New Look at the Federal Budget (PDF - 293KB)

Steve Holt and Jennifer Romich, The Phase-Out Problem: How Taxes and Transfer Policy Designs Hinder Asset Development among Upwardly Mobile Earners (PDF - 101KB)

John E. Anderson, Jeffrey P. Clemens, and Andrew R. Hanson, Tax Reform and Incentives to Encourage Owner-Occupied Housing (PDF - 302KB)

IV.3 Ensuring Retirement Security among Low-Income Households

J. Mark Iwry and David C. John, Pursuing Universal Retirement Security through Automatic IRAs (PDF - 163KB)

Marilyn P. Watkins, State Solutions for Building Retirement Savings for Low and Moderate Income Workers (PDF - 49KB)

IV.4 Manufactured Housing: Asset Building or Asset Stripping?

Peter Skillern and Adam Rust, The Costs of Asset Stripping: How Manufactured Housing Lending Undermines Wealth Building (PDF - 398KB)

Sally Ward, Kelly Giraud, Charlie French, and Paul Bradley, Affordable Housing and Asset Development: The Impact of Land Ownership and Home Financing in Manufactured Home Communities (PDF - 112KB)