Assets Research Library

CFED’s Assets Research Library provides a listing of research and resources on asset building and expanding economic opportunity. The Library is a work in progress so visit regularly for updates and new resources.

Resources are organized by CFED’s priorities: Savings & Financial Security, Affordable Housing & Homeownership, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development. Click on a priority or a topic area below.

Savings and Financial Security

Individual Development Accounts

Learning to Save, Saving to Learn: Intermediate Impacts of the learn$ave Individual Development Accounts Project
Norm Leckie, et al. Social Research and Demonstration Corporation. March, 2009

Assets for Independence Act Evaluation: Process Study and Impact Study
Gregory Mills, et al. Abt Associates. February, 2008

The Effects of Welfare and IDA Program Rules on the Asset Holdings of Low-Income Families
Signe Mary McKernan, Caroline Ratcliffe, Yunju Nam. Urban Institute. September, 2007

Report to Congress: Assets for Independence Program, Status at the Conclusion of the Eighth Year
Office of Community Services, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2007

Evaluation of the American Dream Demonstration
Gregory Mills, et al. Abt Associates. August, 2004
For more research and publications on the American Dream Demonstration, please visit the Center for Social Development.

Assets and the Poor: A New American Welfare Policy
Michael Sherraden. Center for Social Development. Washington University in St. Louis. 1991


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Children’s Savings Accounts

Asset Holding and Educational Attainment among African American Youth
William Elliott III, Kevin Kim, Hyunzee Jung, Min Zhan. Preliminary Findings Presented at the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Conference. November, 2009

SEED Account Monitoring Research: Participants, Savings, and Accumulation
Lisa R. Mason, et al. Center for Social Development. March, 2009

For more research and publications on the children’s savings accounts and the SEED demonstration, please visit the Center for Social Development.

Assets and Liabilities, Educational Expectations, and Children’s College Degree Attainment
Min Zhan and Michael Sherraden. Center for Social Development. 2009

Fulfilling the Commitment: Recommendations for Reforming Federal Student Aid in Brief
Report from the Rethinking Student Aid Study Group. CollegeBoard. September 2008.

The UK Child Trust Fund: A Successful Launch
Jim Bennet, et al. Institute for Public Policy Research and the Initiative on Financial Security at the Aspen Institute. June, 2008


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Wealth and Household Financial Security

2009-2010 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard
CFED. September, 2009

Net Worth, Wealth Inequality and Homeownership during the Bubble Years: An Assets & Opportunity Special Report 
CFED. September, 2008

Return on Investment? Getting More from Federal Asset-Building Policies
Lillian Woo and David Buchholz. CFED. 2007

Asset Security and Opportunity Index
Thomas M. Shapiro, Melvin L. Oliver, and Tatjana Meschede. Institution on Assets and Social Policy, Brandeis University. November, 2009

Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2004 to 2007: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances
Brian K. Bucks, et al. Federal Reserve Board of Governors. February, 2009.

The Effects of Holding Assets on Social and Economic Outcomes of Families: A Review of Theory and Evidence
Robert Lerman and Signe-Mary McKernan. Urban Institute. November 2008

Determinants of Asset Building
Sondra Beverly et al. Urban Institute. March, 2008

The Balance Sheets of Low-Income Households
Adam Carasso and Signe-Mary McKernan. Urban Institute. November, 2007.

Recent Trends in Household Wealth in the United States: Rising Debt and the Middle-Class Squeeze
Edward N. Wolff. Levy Economics Institute of Bard College and New York University. June, 2007


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Savings

Recent Trends in Saving and Investment among African-American and White Households: Implications for Federal Policy to Increase Saving
Charles Betsey, Margaret Simms. Preliminary Findings Presented at the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Conference. November, 2009

Save to Win: the Mid-Term Report
Doorways to Dream Fund. September, 2009

$aveNYC Account: Innovation in Asset Building
Office of Financial Empowerment, New York City Department of Consumer Affairs. August, 2009

Yes We Can: Inclusive Savings at Tax Time
Doorways to Dream (D2D) Fund. July, 2009


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Behavioral Economics

For applied behavioral research resources, visit innovation@CFED website, Applying Behavioral Sciences in the Real World.


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Financial Products and Services

FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. December, 2009
To see data for your state or city, visit the FDIC’s accompanying website, economicinclusion.gov.

The FDIC's Small-Dollar Loan Pilot Program: A Case Study after One Year
Susan Burhouse, Rae-Ann Miller, Aileen G. Sampson. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. July, 2009

Phantom Demand: Short-term Due Date Generates Need for Repeat Payday Loans
Leslie Parrish and Uriah King. Center for Responsible Lending. July, 2009

A Tool for Getting By or Getting Ahead? Consumer’s Views on Prepaid Cards
Sarah Gordon, Jennifer Romich, and Eric Waithaka. Center for Financial Services Innovation. April, 2009

Banking on Wealth: America’s New Retail Banking Infrastructure and Its Wealth-Building Potential
Matt Fellowes and Mia Mabanta. The Brookings Institution. January, 2008


For more information on the underbanked check out publications from the Center for Financial Services Innovation’s Underbanked Consumer Study.


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Financial Education

Teach your Children Well: Credit Outcomes and Prior Parental Teaching of Money Management
Michal Grinstein-Weiss et al. Center for Community Capital. October, 2009

Two Cheers for School-Based Financial Education
Lewis Mandell. Initiative on Financial Security at the Aspen Institute. June, 2009

Financial Capability in Children: Effects of Participation in a School-Based Financial Education and Savings Program
Margaret S. Sherraden, et al. Center for Social Development. 2009


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Affordable Housing & Homeownership

Foreclosures and Foreclosure Prevention

The Foreclosure Generation: The Long-Term Impact of the Housing Crisis on Latino Children and Families
Janis Bowdler, David Andrew Smith. Center for Community Capital. October, 2009

State Anti-Predatory Lending Laws: Impact and Federal Preemption Phase 1 Descriptive Analysis
Center for Community Capital. October 2009

Risky Borrowers or Risky Mortgages: Disaggregating Effects Using Propensity Score Models
Lei Ding, Roberto Quercia, Janneke Ratcliffe. Center for Community Capital. December, 2008

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Homeownership

Navigating the Housing Downturn and Financial Crisis: Home Appreciation and Equity Accumulation Among Community Reinvestment Homeowners.
Sarah F. Riley, Allison Freeman, Roberto G. Quercia. Center for Community Capital. November, 2009

Friends and Neighbors: Homeownership and Social Capital Among Low- to Moderate-Income Families
Kimberly Manturuk et al. Center for Community Capital. November, 2009

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Manufactured Housing

For manufactured housing research and resources, see CFED’s manufactured housing initiatives.

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Shared Equity Homeownership

The Asset Building Potential of Shared Equity Homeownership
Rick Jacobus and John Emmeus Davis. New America Foundation. January, 2010


For more information on shared equity homeownership, visit the Center for Housing Policy.


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Entrepreneurship

Self-Employment Tax Initiative: Tax Preparation and Assets Formation Practices of Self-Employed Vermonters
Michele C. Schmidt. Center for Rural Studies, University of Vermont. July, 2009

Older Workers on the Move: Recareering in Later Life
Richard W. Johnson, et al. The Urban Institute and AARP Public Policy Institute. April, 2009

Self-Employment and Economic Mobility
Signe-Mary McKernan and Hall Salzman, Urban Institute. April 2008

Work and Well-Being Among the Self-Employed at Older Ages
Julie Zissimopoulos and Lynn A. Karoly. AARP Public Policy Institute. February, 2007

The Illusions of Entrepreneurship
Scott Shane. Yale University Press. 2007

Opening Opportunities, Building Ownership: Fulfilling the Promise of Microenterprise in the United States
Elaine Edgcomb, Joyce Klein. FIELD at the Aspen Institute. February, 2005

For more research and publications on Entrepreneurship, please see the publications by FIELD, research by the Kauffman Foundation and publications from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy.


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Economic Development

Desktop Study: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Poverty Reduction
Genevieve Melford and Michael Torrens. CFED. February, 2008

Development Report Card for the States.
CFED. 1987-2007

Development Finance and Regional Economic Development.
Andrea Levere, Bill Schweke and Beadsie Woo. CFED. July, 2006

Promising Practices to Assist Dislocated Workers.
William Schweke. CFED. September, 2004

A Prosperity Grid for North Carolina - Connecting Households and Communities to Economic Opportunity.
North Carolina Assets Alliance. June, 2009

Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck: Wealth-Building Strategies for Venture Capital Funds to Use With Portfolio Companies and Their Employees.
Anne Claire Broughton, assisted by Elizabeth Irons, Jessica Thomas and Jennifer Pawlowski. SJF Advisory Services. 2004

Taking Stock: CDFI’s Look Ahead After 25 Years of Community Development Finance.
Mark Pinsky. Prepared for the Brookings Institution and Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. National Community Capital Association. December, 2001

For more information on the CDFI industry, visit the CDFI Data Project at Opportunity Finance Network.

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