Financial Capability and Asset Development: Research, Education, Policy, and Practice

The complexity of modern financial services and experiences with financial turmoil have heightened interest in the knowledge and skills required for practice that addresses financial issues. But social workers and other helping professionals often lack the preparation, knowledge, and skills to tackle the increasingly complex financial problems of their clients. Financial Capability and Asset Development presents evidence about financial education and financial capability in low-income households, and linking it to education, policy, and practice for helping professionals.

Financial capability, or the ability of people to understand and act in their best financial interest, includes financial knowledge or “financial literacy” and access to beneficial financial services. This volume details the theory, research, policy, and program underpinnings of financial capability work. It presents evidence that financial capability has a vital role to play in social work research, education, policy, and practice. It examines research to understand the role of financial capability on individual, family, and community well-being. The volume also reviews efforts to build the social work profession’s capacity to address the financial issues of low- and moderate-income and other vulnerable households, and it develops an agenda for future research and education.