Savings

The Potential for Inclusion in 529 Savings Plans: Report on a Survey of States

by

Margaret Clancy and Michael Sherraden (Center for Social Development)

Survey information from 40 states and the District of Columbia about who is being served in 529 savings plans as well as state perceptions of how to include lower-income people in the plans.
23 pp.   
Posted: December 2003

Quantifying the Economic Cost of Predatory Payday Lending

by

Keith Ernst, John Farris, and Uriah King (Center for Responsible Lending)

Analysis of quantitative data reveals that payday lenders collect the vast majority of their fees from borrowers trapped in a cycle of repeated transactions, where borrowers are forced to pay high fees every two weeks just to keep an existing loan outstanding ...
13 pp.   
Posted: December 2003

Using Tax Refunds to Promote Asset Building in Low-Income Households: Program and Policy Options

by

Sondra G. Beverly and Colleen Dailey (Center for Social Development)

Offers specific recommendations for linking tax refunds with programs and policies that promote saving and asset accumulation in low-income households.
24 pp.   
Posted: October 2003

Building Assets, Building Credit: Symposium Proceedings

by

Joint Center for Housing Studies (Harvard University)

Details the Building Assets, Building Credit symposium proceedings, which highlighted access to financial services as a gateway to homeownership.
89 pp.   
Posted: October 2003

Financing Strategies for Learning and Asset Development

by

Ray Boshara, Reid Cramer and Leslie Parrish (New America Foundation)

Discusses public policy recommendations regarding a range of lifelong learning financing strategies which require new, targeted institutional arrangements provided by the public and private sectors.
9 pp.   
Posted: October 2003

Evaluation of the CFLI and Saving Gateway Pilot Projects

by

Elaine Kempson, Stephen McKay, and Sharon Collard (Personal Finance Research Centre)

Evaluates the Saving Gateway pilot in five areas of England, which aims to gain practical understanding of the operation of a savings account for lower income groups.
56 pp.   
Posted: October 2003

Household Financial Management: The Connection between Knowledge and Behavior

by

Marianne A. Hilgart, Jeanne M. Hogarth and Sondra G. Beverly (Federal Reserve Bulletin)

Explores the connection between knowledge and behavior—what consumers know and what they do—focusing on four financial management activities: cash-flow management, credit management, saving, and investment.
14 pp.   
Posted: July 2003

Tax Credits and IDA Programs

by

Gena S. Gunn, Anupama Jacob and Melinda Lewis (Center for Social Development)

Examines the overall structure, benefits, and barriers of state tax credit legislation including case studies of four states that have successfully passed IDA legislation with tax credit appropriations.
43 pp.   
Posted: July 2003

State Policy Trends for Individual Development Accounts in the United States: 1993-2003

by

Karen Edwards and Lisa Marie Mason (Center for Social Development)

Examines state IDA policy, the challenges of implementing IDA policy, and opportunities for creating a more universal asset-building policy.
15 pp.   
Posted: May 2003

College Savings Plans and Individual Development Accounts: Potential for Partnership

by

Margaret Clancy (Center for Social Development)

Summary of programs in five states that offer a savings match to all residents within their college savings plans and overview of state programs providing links through IDAs.
9 pp.   
Posted: March 2003

Recommendations from the Field: Individual Development Accounts as Part of a Universal Asset-Building System

by

Robert O. Zdenek and Beverly Stein (Center for Social Development)

Explains the rationale for taking IDAs to scale, and introduces a vision of a universal asset-building system.
37 pp.   
Posted: January 2003

Linking Tax Refunds and Low-Cost Bank Accounts: A Social Development Strategy for Low-Income Families?

by

Sondra G. Beverly, Jennifer L. Romich and Jennifer Tescher (Center for Social Development)

Describes a pilot program encouraging low-income workers to have their tax refunds directly deposited into low-cost bank accounts. The program did not lead to substantial saving and asset accumulation in the short-term but may have helped low-income families “get on track” for ...
14 pp.   
Posted: January 2003

Asset-building policy as a response to wealth inequality: Drawing Implications from the Homestead Act

by

Trina R. Williams (Center for Social Development)

Discusses the Homestead Act's precedent for federal involvement in promoting asset development for individuals and describes asset-building policy as a complementary alternative to income replacement policies that subsidize short-term consumption.
14 pp.   
Posted: January 2003

The Effects of Individual Development Account Programs: Perceptions of Participants

by

Amanda Moore McBride, Margaret Lombe and Sondra G. Beverly (Center for Social Development)

Uses cross-sectional survey data to describe perceived IDA effects: psychological, economic, social, and civic.
20 pp.   
Posted: January 2003

A Comparative Analysis of Rural and Urban Saving Performance in Individual Development Accounts

by

Jami Curley and Michal Grinstein-Weiss (Center for Social Development )

Examines the predictors of savings outcomes for rural and urban participants in IDA programs through multivariate analyses and survey data.
21 pp.   
Posted: January 2003