The Role of Institutions In Low-income Households' Saving Behavior

The Role of Institutions In Low-income Households' Saving Behavior PDF Author: Jami Curley
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783838327624
Category : Individual development accounts
Languages : en
Pages : 140

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Book Description

The Role of Institutions In Low-income Households' Saving Behavior

The Role of Institutions In Low-income Households' Saving Behavior PDF Author: Jami Curley
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783838327624
Category : Individual development accounts
Languages : en
Pages : 140

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Book Description


The Role of Institutions in the Saving Participation and Performance of Low-income Households in Individual Development Accounts

The Role of Institutions in the Saving Participation and Performance of Low-income Households in Individual Development Accounts PDF Author: Jami Carol Curley
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description


Individual and Institutional Factors Related to Low-Income Household Saving Behavior

Individual and Institutional Factors Related to Low-Income Household Saving Behavior PDF Author: Stuart Heckman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 7

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Book Description
This research sought to further understanding of factors related to low-income household saving behavior. Saving behavior, defined as whether a household spent less than income, was analyzed by applying institutional theory, which proposes that households' institutional environment has a substantial effect on financial decisions. Two logistic regression models were used to test the effects of variables on saving behavior; the first logit was based on the life cycle hypothesis and the second added noneconomic individual factors (i.e., social networks, financial literacy, and psychological variables) and institutional factors (i.e., access, incentives, and facilitation). Institutional factors, including the number of institutions used, credit access, and having an employer sponsored retirement plan, had significant effects even after controlling for the effect of variables based on the life cycle model, suggesting that promoting institutional access and facilitation - especially through employer-provided plans - may encourage saving behavior among low-income households.

Can the Poor Save?

Can the Poor Save? PDF Author: Michael Sherraden
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351530232
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
Many policymakers argue that the best poverty policy not only provides cash to the poor for subsistence but also incentives and structures that encourage long-term social and economic improvement. As part of this, they make the case for Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), a new policy proposal designed to help the poor save and to build assets. This book explores IDAs to determine their effectiveness. IDAs are matched savings accounts targeted on low-income, low-wealth individuals. Savings in IDAs are used for home ownership, post-secondary education, small business development, and other purposes. Do IDAs work? If they do, for whom? And does how an IDA is designed determine savings outcomes? This volume is the first analysis of matched savings by the poor to use data from monthly bank statements. It comes at a critical time, as debate rages over the merits of individual social security accounts. IDAs also respond to policy that is becoming more asset based and less inclusive of the poor. The authors argue for the efficacy of IDAs to counter this tendency. They find that while savings outcomes vary among participants, no characteristics (such as low income or public assistance) preclude saving. They examine effects of IDA design (the match rate, savings targets, and the use of automatic transfer) on savings results and analyze factors that influence varying rates of saving and spending over time. They conclude that financial education and other support services, though costly, improve savings performance. To address the issue of cost they suggest a two-tier system of IDA design, one with broad access and simple services and the other with targeted access and intensive services. Can the Poor Save? offers a wealth of lessons to those interested in saving and asset accumulation among the poor. It not only breaks new ground in the scientific study of savings behavior, but also offers concrete, evidence-based recommendations to improve policies designed to encourage the poor to save and how to make such policies more inclusive.

Striving to Save

Striving to Save PDF Author: Margaret Sherrard Sherraden
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 0472021818
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 205

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Book Description
"Striving to Save will inform and inspire social policy with its breakthrough approach in understanding how low-income families make ends meet while striving to make a better life for themselves and their families. Scholarly work in savings, debt, household finance, and behavior economics will benefit from this pioneering study that provides real-life context for some of the most important issues of our day." ---Tom Shapiro, Brandeis University "The central contribution of the book is to use original qualitative research to provide readers with a nuanced understanding of the financial difficulties facing low-income households, their financial decision-making processes, and their paths to saving and building assets over time. The book provides an essential corrective to the unidimensional view of poor households as unable and unwilling to save." ---Michael Barr, University of Michigan In Striving to Save, Margaret Sherrard Sherraden and Amanda Moore McBride examine savings in eighty-four working families with low incomes, including fifty-nine families who participated in a groundbreaking program of matched savings and financial education. In-depth interviews with these families, along with savings and survey data, shed light on saving in low-income households. The book concludes with recommended public policy approaches for increasing savings in households that are striving to save. Margaret Sherrard Sherraden is Professor of Social Work at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Amanda Moore McBride is Assistant Professor of Social Work at Washington University, St. Louis.

A Comparison of Two Savings Measures

A Comparison of Two Savings Measures PDF Author: Stuart J. Heckman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 65

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Book Description
Through the application of the institutional theory of saving behavior, a framework is established for understanding determinants of savings among low-income households. Multiple survey years from the Survey of Consumer Finances were used to investigate the research questions through the use of means testing and logistic regression. Two different savings measurements were used: a broad measure and a narrow measure.

Assets for the Poor

Assets for the Poor PDF Author: Thomas M. Shapiro
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 1610444957
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
Over the past three decades, average household wealth in the United States has declined among all but the richest families, with a near 80 percent drop among the nation's poorest families. Although the national debate about inequality has focused on income, it is wealth—the private assets amassed and passed on within families—that provides the extra economic cushion needed to move beyond mere day-to-day survival. Assets for the Poor is the first full-scale investigation into the importance of family wealth and the need for policies to encourage asset-building among the poor. Assets for the Poor shows how institutional mechanisms designed to encourage acquisition of capital and property favor middle-class and high-income families. For example, the aggregate value of home mortgage tax deductions far outweighs the dollar amount of the subsidies provided by Section 8 rental vouchers and public housing. Banking definitions of creditworthiness largely exclude minorities, and welfare rules have made it nearly impossible for single mothers to accumulate savings, let alone stocks or real estate. Due to persistent residential segregation, even those minority families who do own homes are often denied equal access to better schools and public services. The research in this volume shows that the poor do make use of the assets they have. Cash gifts—although small in size—are frequent within families and often lead to such positive results as homebuying and debt reduction, while tangible assets such as tools and cars help increase employment prospects. Assets for the Poor examines policies such as Individual Development Account tax subsidies to reward financial savings among the poor, and more liberal credit rules to make borrowing easier and less costly. The contributors also offer thoughtful advice for bringing the poor into mainstream savings institutions and warn against developing asset building policies at the expense of existing safety net programs. Asset-building for low-income families is a powerful idea that offers hope to families searching for a way out of poverty. Assets for the Poor challenges current thinking regarding poverty reduction policies and proposes a major shift in the way we think about families and how they make a better life. A Volume in the Ford Foundation Series on Asset Building

The Financial Diaries

The Financial Diaries PDF Author: Jonathan Morduch
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691172986
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
Drawing on the groundbreaking U.S. Financial Diaries project (http://www.usfinancialdiaries.org/), which follows the lives of 235 low- and middle-income families as they navigate through a year, the authors challenge popular assumptions about how Americans earn, spend, borrow, and save-- and they identify the true causes of distress and inequality for many working Americans.

Determinants of Saving Behavior and Individual Development Account Program Participation in Ohio

Determinants of Saving Behavior and Individual Development Account Program Participation in Ohio PDF Author: Sara Jo Wackler DeMay
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Saving and investment
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Abstract: The main objective of this study is to identify the major variables that determine the rate of saving and Individual Development Account (IDA) program participation among low-income individuals across rural and urban locations in Ohio. Economic theory predicts that as household income increases, the amount saved should increase. Empirical evidence from previous studies of poor households, however, does not always support this theory. Therefore, for this study, two models are constructed that integrate elements from three theories of saving, namely economic, institutional, and psychological.

Preparing for an Aging World

Preparing for an Aging World PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309170877
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
Aging is a process that encompasses virtually all aspects of life. Because the speed of population aging is accelerating, and because the data needed to study the aging process are complex and expensive to obtain, it is imperative that countries coordinate their research efforts to reap the most benefits from this important information. Preparing for an Aging World looks at the behavioral and socioeconomic aspects of aging, and focuses on work, retirement, and pensions; wealth and savings behavior; health and disability; intergenerational transfers; and concepts of well-being. It makes recommendations for a collection of new, cross-national data on aging populationsâ€"data that will allow nations to develop policies and programs for addressing the major shifts in population age structure now occurring. These efforts, if made internationally, would advance our understanding of the aging process around the world.