Expanded Child Tax Credit payments have not reduced employment

Approximately 60 million American children living in 35 million households received monthly payments from the federal government as part of the temporary Child Tax Credit (CTC) expansion. Discourse over whether or not the expanded CTC caused parents to leave the workforce emerged during the period of the expanded credit. On one side, a large number […]

Social Responses to a Changing Environment

Mason, L. R., Kemp, S. P., Palinkas, L. A., & Krings, A. (2021). Social responses to a changing environment. In C. Franklin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of social work. National Association of Social Workers & Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.1431

Smart Decarceration

Pettus, C. (2021). Smart decarceration. In C. Franklin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of social work. National Association of Social Workers & Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.1295

Environment and Health in Nigeria: Capacity and Research Development

Ekenga, C. C., Mason, L. R., & Mustapha, A. (2021, December). Environment and health in Nigeria: Capacity and research development (CSD Research Brief No. 21-38). Washington University, Center for Social Development. https://doi.org/10.7936/ae45-hd66

HomeGrown StL 4th Annual Regional Summit on the State of Opportunities for Black Boys and Young Men: Closing the Health, Growth, and Opportunity Gaps

Joe, S., Clifton, M., & Carlton-Brown, D. (2021, December). HomeGrown StL 4th Annual Regional Summit on the State of Opportunities for Black Boys and Young Men: Closing the healing, growth, and opportunity gaps (CSD Conference Report No. 21-34). Washington University, Center for Social Development, Race & Opportunity Lab, HomeGrownStL. https://doi.org/10.7936/cej1-ds84

Vaccine Hesitance During COVID-19: Exploring Motivations and Incentives

Brugger, L., Roll, S., Kristensen, K., & Grinstein-Weiss, M. (2021). Vaccine hesitance during COVID-19: Exploring motivations and incentives (Social Policy Institute Research Brief). Washington University, Social Policy Institute. https://www.doi.org/10.7936/b07b-ks62

Activating Inclusive Growth in St. Louis

On Dec. 9, 2021, we learned how to influence policy and collaborate with like-minded people to activate change in our last Inclusive Growth in St. Louis event. After a year of events investigating why economic growth in St. Louis benefits some groups of people more than others and how we can change systems to support […]

CSD releases new tools for educators

As colleges and universities begin the new academic year, educators in social work and other human-service fields have new tools for equipping students with the knowledge needed to guide clients with financial problems.

COVID-19 Among Youth in Israel: Correlates of Decisions to Vaccinate and Reasons for Refusal

The primary aim of the present study is to examine the reasons for adolescents’ refusal to get vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine, and examine correlates of vaccination among adolescents aged 12–18 years in Israel. A total of 150 youth aged 12–18 years participated in the study. Following parental consent (30% response rate) from an online internet […]

Financial Shocks and Financial Well-Being: What Builds Resiliency in Lower-Income Households?

Households in the U.S. regularly experience unexpected negative income or expense shocks, and low- and moderate-income households experience these shocks at disproportionately high rates. Relatively little is known about the impact these shocks have on households’ subjective sense of financial well-being, and how access to different types of liquidity (e.g., liquid assets, credit cards, social […]

Did government benefits help Israeli households avoid hardship during COVID-19? Evidence from a national survey

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of Israel quickly introduced aggressive social distancing measures to curb the virus spread and adapted its unemployment insurance program in response to rising unemployment rates. This study examines the relationship between household income and the experience of material hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel and […]

How Did School Meal Access Change During the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Two-Step Floating Catchment Area Analysis of a Large Metropolitan Area

Jabbari, J., Chun, Y., Nandan, P., McDermott, L., Frank, T., Moreland-Russell, S., Ferris, D., Roll, S. (2021). How did school meal access change during the COVID-19 pandemic? A two-step floating catchment area analysis of a large metropolitan area. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(21), Article 11350. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111350

Transforming 529 College Savings Plans: Grow Assets for Everyone, Grow the Country

Sherraden, M., & Clancy, M. M. (2021). Transforming 529 college savings plans: grow assets for everyone, grow the country. In R. Boshara & I. Rademacher (Eds.), The future of building wealth: Brief essays on the best ideas to build wealth—for everyone (pp. 251–257). Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis & Aspen Institute. https://futureofwealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Sec-5.pdf

Human Service Professionals: A Ready Workforce for Financial Capability

Sherraden, M. S., Huang, J., & Jones, J. L. (2021). Human service professionals: A ready workforce for financial capability. In R. Boshara & I. Rademacher (Eds.), The future of building wealth: Brief essays on the best ideas to build wealth—for everyone (pp. 193–199). Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis & Aspen Institute. https://futureofwealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Sec-3.pdf

We Have Clean Water and Clean Air: Why Not Clean Finance, Too? A Vision for Inclusion and Equity

Huang, J., Sherraden, M., & Sherraden, M. S. (2021). We have clean water and clean air: Why not clean finance, too? A vision for inclusion and equity. In R. Boshara & I. Rademacher (Eds.), The future of building wealth: Brief essays on the best ideas to build wealth—for everyone (pp. 83–89). Federal Reserve Bank and Aspen Institute. https://futureofwealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Sec-2.pdf

Asset Building: Toward Inclusive Policy

Sherraden, M., Johnson, L., Clancy, M. M., Beverly, S. G., Sherraden, M. S., Schreiner, M., Elliott, W., III, Williams Shanks, T. R., Adams, D., Curley, J., Huang, J., Grinstein-Weiss, M., Nam, Y., Zhan, M., & Han, C. K. (2021, September 29). Asset building: Toward inclusive policy. In C. Franklin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of social work. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.25

Impact of COVID-19 on Households with Children

The COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruptions in employment, child care and education. As a result, both parents and children experienced a variety of hardships in their work and education. While these hardships had reverberating effects throughout households, they were not equally distributed across families with children. In this brief, we explore the effects of COVID-19 […]

Employment Changes During COVID-19

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. unemployment peaked at 14.4%. While some workers have returned to payrolls, others have been left behind. This brief examines the nuances of employment changes over the course of the pandemic and the impact of those changes on household financial well-being. Our study finds that the proportion of employees who […]

Housing Hardships During COVID-19

Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. households were burdened by the cost of rental and mortgage payments, burdens which disproportionately fell on Black and Hispanic families. Using a 5-wave survey, we examined whether disparities in housing cost burden continued throughout the pandemic and trends in how households fell behind on rent and mortgage payments. […]

Embracing Inclusive Leadership

Join us at 12:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Sept. 23 for an event discussing strategies to create inclusive leadership.

The Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19 Study: Survey Methodology Report

Roll, S., Bufe, S.., Chun, Y., & Grinstein-Weiss, M. (2021). The Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19 Study: Survey methodology report (Social Policy Institute Research Report). Washington University, Social Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.7936/r4cj-5041

International Development Volunteering as Alternative Public Diplomacy

Tiessen, R., & Lough, B. J. (2021). International development volunteering as alternative public diplomacy. In H. Zafarullah & A. S. Huque (Eds.), Handbook of Development Policy (pp 283–293). Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839100871.00032

Pinching pennies or money to burn? The role of grit in financial behaviors

We explore whether gritty individuals are better savers by virtue of their wealth or due to diligent choices that benefit their long-term economic health. We test these competing hypotheses by examining the ways in which grit influences how LMI tax filers report spending or saving their tax refund in the months following tax filing. We […]

Leadership for Volunteering: The COVID-19 Experience

Mati, J. M., Allum, C., Perold, H., Lough, B. J., Tiessen R. (2021). Leadership for volunteering: The COVID-19 experience [Report]. International Association for Volunteer Effort International. https://leadership4vol.iave.org/

Timely and Well-Targeted Financial Assistance during Covid-19

The Social Policy Institute (SPI) at Washington University in St. Louis partnered with PerkUp Financial Health LLC, a financial services technology company, to study an emergency financial assistance program offered to employees of three hotels in New Orleans, LA who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. PerkUp serves as a technology hub for a […]

Prominent Child Development Account experts outline a nationwide policy

A group of experts and researchers is making the case for a nationwide Child Development Account (CDA) policy. The group, which includes CSD Founding Director Michael Sherraden and Policy Director Margaret Clancy, recently released the outline in a pair of CDA policy briefs. The briefs are entitled “The Case for a Nationwide Child Development Account […]

The Case for a Nationwide Child Development Account Policy: A Policy Brief Developed by CDA Experts and Researchers

Cisneros, J., Clancy, M. M., Elliott, W., III, Feinstein, A., Kanter, M., Karcher-Ramos, M., Kugler, C., Peachey, J., Quint, C., Shapiro, T. M., & Sherraden, M. (2021, August). The case for a nationwide Child Development Account policy: A policy brief developed by CDA experts and researchers (CSD Policy Brief No. 21-20). Washington University, Center for Social Development.

Redesigning College Savings (529) Plans to Achieve Inclusive Child Development Accounts: A Policy Brief Developed by CDA Experts and Researchers

Cisneros, J., Clancy, M. M., Elliott, W., III, Feinstein, A., Kanter, M., Karcher-Ramos, M., Kugler, C., Peachey, J., Quint, C., Shapiro, T. M., & Sherraden, M. (2021, August). Redesigning college savings (529) plans to achieve inclusive Child Development Accounts: A policy brief developed by CDA experts and researchers (CSD Policy Brief No. 21-21). Washington University, Center for Social Development.

CSD and Partners Launch New Multinational Collaboration in Africa

Mobile phones have become commonplace in sub-Saharan Africa. There, as in other parts of the world, financial technology has proliferated with the expansion of digital access, opening new doors to financial products and services. But this emerging landscape requires financial acumen, and sound guidance can be hard to find.

On July 15, a multinational group of partners gathered virtually to mark the launch of Financial Capability and Asset Building in Africa (FCAB Africa), a new collaboration aimed at meeting these needs.

Reflections of a Central Bank Governor

Addison, E. (2021, July). Reflections of a central bank governor (CSD Perspective No. 21-18). Washington University, Center for Social Development.

FCAB Africa: Summary of Achievements as of July 2021

Center for Social Development. (2021, July). FCAB Africa: Summary of achievements as of July 2021 (CSD Fact Sheet No. 21-13). Washington University, Center for Social Development. https://doi.org/10.7936/j5rd-tr36