Suchergebnisse

The contributors to this comprehensive book compile and analyse the latest data available on household wealth using, as case studies, the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Finland during the 1990s and into the twenty-first century. The authors show that in the US, trends are highlighted in terms of wealth holdings, among the low-income population, along with changes in wealth polarization, racial differences in wealth holdings, and the dynamics of portfolio choices. The consensus between the authors is that wealth inequality has generally risen among these OECD countries since the early 1980s, although Germany stands out as an exception. In the case of the US, it is also noted that wealth holdings have generally failed to improve among low-income families and that the racial wealth gap widened during the late 1980s

It is contended that the US must adopt a novel approach to resolving poverty & to designing poverty policies. The conventional position that identifies income & labor markets as the principal determinants of poverty is rejected. Rather, it is claimed that three additional factors require consideration: (1) the ability of families to acquire financial assets; (2) the function financial assets play in increasing standards of living & employment opportunities; & (3) the potential benefits of creating social policy based on financial assets. Summaries of articles that address the issues of asset ownership in the US, poor people's capacity to accumulate assets, & the establishment of policy designed to encourage poor people to accumulate assets are presented. It is concluded that asset ownership significantly augments the psychological well-being of poor individuals & that emphasizing asset-based policy will introduce more families into the nation's financial mainstream. J. W. Parker

It is contended that the US must adopt a novel approach to resolving poverty & to designing poverty policies. The conventional position that identifies income & labor markets as the principal determinants of poverty is rejected. Rather, it is claimed that three additional factors require consideration: (1) the ability of families to acquire financial assets; (2) the function financial assets play in increasing standards of living & employment opportunities; & (3) the potential benefits of creating social policy based on financial assets. Summaries of articles that address the issues of asset ownership in the US, poor people's capacity to accumulate assets, & the establishment of policy designed to encourage poor people to accumulate assets are presented. It is concluded that asset ownership significantly augments the psychological well-being of poor individuals & that emphasizing asset-based policy will introduce more families into the nation's financial mainstream. J. W. Parker