Michael Sherraden – författare

Not since the Great Depression of the 1930s has the United States faced such a prolonged period of high unemployment and underemployment. Recovery from the "Great Recession" that began in 2008 has been slow, and is projected to remain sluggish over the next several years, while another shock to the global economy could erase the meager gains of the past months. Economic conditions remain fragile and employment challenges show no sign of letting up. With persistently high unemployment and underemployment-and growing inequality in wages-an increasing number of American families are no longer adequately supported by employment income and basic benefits. Many older workers have "retired" before they are ready, and many young workers cannot find a foothold in the job market. A silent crisis is underway, with huge social and economic costs for the nation. Working and Living in the Shadow of Economic Fragility examines the current state of employment through historical, macroeconomic, cultural, sociological and policy lenses, in order to address fundamental questions about the role and value of work in America today. The book offers suggestions for how to address the short- and long-term challenges of rebuilding a society of opportunity with meaningful and sustaining jobs as the foundation of the American middle-class.

Many policymakers argue that the best poverty policy not only provides cash to the poor for subsistence but also incentives and structures that encourage long-term social and economic improvement. As part of this, they make the case for Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), a new policy proposal designed to help the poor save and to build assets. This book explores IDAs to determine their effectiveness.IDAs are matched savings accounts targeted on low-income, low-wealth individuals. Savings in IDAs are used for home ownership, post-secondary education, small business development, and other purposes. Do IDAs work? If they do, for whom? And does how an IDA is designed determine savings outcomes? This volume is the first analysis of matched savings by the poor to use data from monthly bank statements. It comes at a critical time, as debate rages over the merits of individual social security accounts. IDAs also respond to policy that is becoming more asset based and less inclusive of the poor. The authors argue for the efficacy of IDAs to counter this tendency. They find that while savings outcomes vary among participants, no characteristics (such as low income or public assistance) preclude saving. They examine effects of IDA design (the match rate, savings targets, and the use of automatic transfer) on savings results and analyze factors that influence varying rates of saving and spending over time. They conclude that financial education and other support services, though costly, improve savings performance. To address the issue of cost they suggest a two-tier system of IDA design, one with broad access and simple services and the other with targeted access and intensive services.Can the Poor Save? offers a wealth of lessons to those interested in saving and asset accumulation among the poor. It not only breaks new ground in the scientific study of savings behavior, but also offers concrete, evidence-based recommendations to improve policies designed to encourage the poor to save and how to make such policies more inclusive.

Many policymakers argue that the best poverty policy not only provides cash to the poor for subsistence but also incentives and structures that encourage long-term social and economic improvement. As part of this, they make the case for Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), a new policy proposal designed to help the poor save and to build assets. This book explores IDAs to determine their effectiveness.IDAs are matched savings accounts targeted on low-income, low-wealth individuals. Savings in IDAs are used for home ownership, post-secondary education, small business development, and other purposes. Do IDAs work? If they do, for whom? And does how an IDA is designed determine savings outcomes? This volume is the first analysis of matched savings by the poor to use data from monthly bank statements. It comes at a critical time, as debate rages over the merits of individual social security accounts. IDAs also respond to policy that is becoming more asset based and less inclusive of the poor. The authors argue for the efficacy of IDAs to counter this tendency. They find that while savings outcomes vary among participants, no characteristics (such as low income or public assistance) preclude saving. They examine effects of IDA design (the match rate, savings targets, and the use of automatic transfer) on savings results and analyze factors that influence varying rates of saving and spending over time. They conclude that financial education and other support services, though costly, improve savings performance. To address the issue of cost they suggest a two-tier system of IDA design, one with broad access and simple services and the other with targeted access and intensive services.Can the Poor Save? offers a wealth of lessons to those interested in saving and asset accumulation among the poor. It not only breaks new ground in the scientific study of savings behavior, but also offers concrete, evidence-based recommendations to improve policies designed to encourage the poor to save and how to make such policies more inclusive.

This important and timely book studies the non-military national service programs in nine countries: Canada, China, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, Nigeria, the United States, and West Germany. The efforts of five contributing authors and the support of many individuals and organizations all over the world have gone into this volume, providing a valuable reference in comparing national service programs. It also explores the multiple outcomes of national service programs on many levels--social, economic, and individual. Although countries far less affluent than the United States have found it worthwhile to invest in national service, the book shows that the functional success of such a program depends on the balance of benefit and cost. The book focuses on various forms of compensation to participating individuals, (e.g., wage, room and board, credit toward college education), as well as the possibility that such compensation conflicts with the idea of service and instead becomes a source of employment. Now, when the idea of national service is gaining support in the United States, these and other issues addressed in the book are especially critical.Also included are chapters on policy and program characteristics and understanding non-military service in different nations. A final chapter examines the development of a national service policy in the United States. The lessons to be learned from this book are numerous in their applications to both the social sciences and public policy.

Inclusive Child Development Accounts showcases the global context of emerging asset-building policies and programmes around Child Development Accounts.Child Development Accounts (CDAs) are subsidized accounts that enable families to accumulate assets to invest in children’s development and life goals, such as postsecondary education, homeownership, business development, and retirement security. The vision for CDAs is to be universal (meaning everyone participates), progressive (meaning greater subsidies for the poor), and lifelong (meaning from the cradle to the grave). Since 1991, schools, communities, states, provinces, and entire countries have launched various CDA programs and policies. In the first part of the volume, scholars highlight the core feature of "inclusiveness" of CDAs in Singapore, Israel, and the United States. In the second part, scholars report on CDA policies and projects in Taiwan, Uganda, Korea, and mainland China.Showing how asset building can be effective in diverse cultural and social contexts, and that all these contexts emphasize the investing in children early in life and empowering of them to achieve their potential as productive citizens, Inclusive Child Development Accounts will be of great interest to scholars of social work, policy, investment, and development, as well as financial inclusivity. It originally published as a special issue of the Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development.

This comprehensive collection of the latest research and policy developments in civic service worldwide provides an informed assessment of what works and what doesn't work in the field. With contributions from some of the discipline's best-known global leaders, it presents a conceptualization and operational definition of civic service that allows for variations across nations and cultures. "Civic Service Worldwide" offers a perspective on the history and potential for civic service from its roots in military service. It summarizes the effects of national service in diverse countries, and identifies important developments in service, including service across the lifespan and transnational service. The editors and contributors also address key questions and promising theoretical and methodological approaches for advancing knowledge in the field.

The first in-depth examination of self-employment from the perspectives of low-income entrepreneurs.Businesses come to life as owners are allowed to speak in their own words in this first in-depth examination of self-employment told from the perspectives of low-income microentrepreneurs. The book systematically analyzes a range of issues, including who chooses to open a micro business, and why; what resources do they bring to their business venture; how well will their venture fare; and what contributes to the growth or decline of their business. The authors conclude that most microentrepreneurs believe self-employment offers a range of monetary and nonmonetary benefits and argue it would be more advantageous to view microenterprise as a social and economic development strategy rather than simply as an anti-poverty strategy. Based on this observation, a range of strategies to better promote microenterprise programs among the poor is advanced, with the goal of targeting the most promising approaches.

The first in-depth examination of self-employment from the perspectives of low-income entrepreneurs.Businesses come to life as owners are allowed to speak in their own words in this first in-depth examination of self-employment told from the perspectives of low-income microentrepreneurs. The book systematically analyzes a range of issues, including who chooses to open a micro business, and why; what resources do they bring to their business venture; how well will their venture fare; and what contributes to the growth or decline of their business. The authors conclude that most microentrepreneurs believe self-employment offers a range of monetary and nonmonetary benefits and argue it would be more advantageous to view microenterprise as a social and economic development strategy rather than simply as an anti-poverty strategy. Based on this observation, a range of strategies to better promote microenterprise programs among the poor is advanced, with the goal of targeting the most promising approaches.

"Will 69 million baby boomers suddenly drop out of the workforce when they turn 65? It is difficult to imagine this generation, with its talent, education, and experience, idling away the last thirty years of life."-From the Foreword, by Robert N. Butler, M.D., The Mount Sinai Medical Center Old age has been historically thought of as a period of frailty and dependence, yet studies show that with the help of advances in health and medicine, current populations will live longer and remain healthier than previous generations. As average life expectancies rise, traditional concepts of retirement need to be reconsidered on all levels-from government policy to business practice to individual life planning. In this volume, leaders in the field of gerontology explore these changing conditions through the concept of "productive aging," which has been developed by leaders in the field to promote older adults' contributions to society in social and economic capacities. Productive Aging: Concepts and Challenges treats the implications of productive aging for the discipline of gerontology and for society in general.The first section defines the principles, historical perspectives, and conceptual frameworks for productive aging. The second section takes a disciplinary approach, treating the biomedical, psychological, sociological, and economic implications of a more capable older generation. The third section considers advances in theories of gerontology, and the fourth section suggests future directions in practice, theory, and research. Contributors: W. Andrew Achenbaum, University of Houston * Scott A. Bass, University of Maryland-Baltimore * Vern L. Bengtson, University of Southern California * James E. Birren, UCLA * Francis G. Caro, University of Massachusetts Boston * Carroll L. Estes, University of California-San Francisco * Marc Freedman, Civic Ventures (co-founder of Experience Corps) * James Hinterlong, Washington University * James S. Jackson, University of Michigan * Jane L. Mahakian, Pacific Senior Services * Harry R. Moody, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation * Nancy Morrow-Howell, Washington University * Philip Rozario, Washington University * James H.Schulz, Brandeis University * Michael Sherraden, Washington University * Alvar Svanborg, University of Illinois-Chicago and Goteburg University, Sweden * Brent A. Taylor, San Diego State University

This work proposes a new approach to welfare: a social policy that goes beyond simple income maintenance to foster individual initiative and self-sufficiency. It argues for an asset-based policy that would create a system of saving incentives through individual development accounts (IDAs) for specific purposes, such as college education, homeownership, self-employment and retirement security. In this way, low-income Americans could gain the same opportunities that middle- and upper-income citizens have to plan ahead, set aside savings and invest in a more secure future.

Inclusive Child Development Accounts showcases the global context of emerging asset-building policies and programmes around Child Development Accounts. Child Development Accounts (CDAs) are subsidized accounts that enable families to accumulate assets to invest in children’s development and life goals, such as postsecondary education, homeownership, business development, and retirement security. The vision for CDAs is to be universal (meaning everyone participates), progressive (meaning greater subsidies for the poor), and lifelong (meaning from the cradle to the grave). Since 1991, schools, communities, states, provinces, and entire countries have launched various CDA programs and policies. In the first part of the volume, scholars highlight the core feature of "inclusiveness" of CDAs in Singapore, Israel, and the United States. In the second part, scholars report on CDA policies and projects in Taiwan, Uganda, Korea, and mainland China.Showing how asset building can be effective in diverse cultural and social contexts, and that all these contexts emphasize the investing in children early in life and empowering of them to achieve their potential as productive citizens, Inclusive Child Development Accounts will be of great interest to scholars of social work, policy, investment, and development, as well as financial inclusivity. It originally published as a special issue of the Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development.

Asia has long been a testing ground for efforts to augment financial and social security by developing assets that may support individuals and households and contribute to long-term social development. Rapid growth in the number and breadth of asset-based social policies has prompted Asian scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to share lessons from current efforts and chart future directions. This book offers a unique collection of macro- and micro-level analyses on asset-based social development and compares and contrasts national social policies across the Asia Pacific region. Many asset-building policies and programmes have been undertaken in Asia, and innovative proposals continue to emerge. The contributions in this book present and assess this broad, often nuanced, and evolving landscape, and offer an insightful analysis of the evolution of asset-building policies, innovative programmes in rural populations, asset-based interventions to facilitate the development and well-being of children, as well as case studies on new, ground-breaking asset-building projects. Asset-Building Policies and Innovation in Asia will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of Asian social policy, social welfare, social development and social work.

Asia has long been a testing ground for efforts to augment financial and social security by developing assets that may support individuals and households and contribute to long-term social development. Rapid growth in the number and breadth of asset-based social policies has prompted Asian scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to share lessons from current efforts and chart future directions. This book offers a unique collection of macro- and micro-level analyses on asset-based social development and compares and contrasts national social policies across the Asia Pacific region. Many asset-building policies and programmes have been undertaken in Asia, and innovative proposals continue to emerge. The contributions in this book present and assess this broad, often nuanced, and evolving landscape, and offer an insightful analysis of the evolution of asset-building policies, innovative programmes in rural populations, asset-based interventions to facilitate the development and well-being of children, as well as case studies on new, ground-breaking asset-building projects. Asset-Building Policies and Innovation in Asia will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of Asian social policy, social welfare, social development and social work.