Using over two decades of Survey of Consumer Finances data and a pseudo-panel technique, we measure the impact of the Great Recession on US family wealth relative to the counterfactual of what wealth would have been given wealth accumulation trajectories. Our synthetic cohort-level models find...

How do private transfers differ by race and ethnicity, and do such differences explain the racial and ethnic disparity in wealth? Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, this study examines private transfers by race and ethnicity in the United States and explores a causal relationship between...

Nearly 15% of all U.S. households and 40% of near-poor households were food insecure in 2009. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the cornerstone of federal food assistance programs and serves as the first line of defense against food-related hardship. This paper measures the...

This article examines how events-such as changes in household composition, employment status, disability status, and economic conditions-affect poverty entries and exits. We also examine whether the role these events play in poverty transitions differs in the pre- and post-welfare-reform...

This study is the first to compare the homeownership outcomes of Individual Development Account (IDA) homebuyers with other low-income homebuyers. The IDA homebuyers purchased homes in 16 states with IDA funds between 1999 and 2007. We compare both loan terms and foreclosure outcomes for the IDA...

This paper reviews the literature on poverty dynamics in the U.S. It surveys the most prevalent data, theories, and methods used to answer three key questions: How likely are people to enter, exit, and reenter poverty? How long do people remain in poverty? And what events are associated with...

This study uses nationally representative data from the 2009 National Financial Capability State-by-State Survey to examine the relationship between state-level alternative financial service (AFS) policies (prohibitions, price caps, disclosures) and consumer use of five AFS products: payday...

This study examines whether there is a significant relationship between homeownership and engaged parenting practices among low- and moderate-income households. Using analytic methods which account for selection effects and clustering, we test whether homeownership can act as a protective factor...

Although there is no universal approach to offering Child Development Accounts (CDAs), this paper introduces a framework for an age-based conceptual model that describes how such accounts might influence indicators of child well-being. With a focus on optimal age-appropriate development...