Center on Assets, Education, and Inclusion

This section of the website identifies articles that have examined the history of Children's Savings Policies in the U.S. and abroad.

Friedline, T. (May, 2012). Extending savings accounts to young people: Lessons from two decades of theory and research and implications for policy. Paper presented at the Assets@21, New America Foundation in Washington, DC.

Abstract

When young people have savings accounts early in life, they may accelerate more quickly through the developmental milestones that govern saving behaviors, develop expectations about their educational futures that include college attendance, and experience improved financial and educational well-being later in life. This paper focuses on extending savings accounts to young people as a strategy for improving well-being. In particular, this paper will: (1) place young people's savings within the broader context of two decades of development on asset-building; (2) review theory and research on young people's savings; (3) identify implications for policy; and (4) identify remaining questions to be tested in future research. The lessons learned from theory and research can inform programs and policies that aim to extend savings accounts to young people, such as Child Development Accounts (CDAs) and the America Saving for Personal Investment, Retirement, and Education (ASPIRE) Act.

Loke, V., & Sherraden, M. (2009). Building assets from birth: A global comparison of child development account policies. International Journal of Social Welfare, 18(2), 119-129.

Abstract

Asset building is a growing theme in public policy, and building assets from birth in the form of Child Development Accounts is now occurring in several countries. This paper provides an overview of the Child Development Account policies in Singapore, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Korea, and the proposed policy in the United States. The key elements of inclusiveness, progressivity, coherence and integration, and development are explicated and discussed.

Read the working paper