Building Financial Bridges to Economic Development and Community Integration: Recommendations for a Research Agenda on Asset Development for People With Disabilities

Research on asset accumulation among the population of people with disabilities is quite limited. Previous work indicates that people with disabilities have significantly fewer assets than people without disabilities. Research on asset development suggests that in general, individuals in lower income tiers are able to save and that holding assets has a positive relationship with general personal well being, economic security, and civic behavior and community involvement. Many individuals with disabilities are living in chronic poverty. For those who are unable to work, the accumulation of assets is difficult. Without significant savings, people with disabilities are unable to afford down payments on homes, capitalize small businesses, pay for advanced education, purchase assistive technology, or make accessibility-related architectural modifications to their homes. This paper recommends four significant areas to be considered in developing a research agenda on asset development for people with disabilities.