Asset Building Research Field Expands

We’ve been very pleased recently to have occasion to note that our field is growing. There have been recent policy successes, and in many cases a growing acceptance of the assets framework. One area in which we’ve seen steady growth of interest and output related to asset building is in the academy. As evidence of that, we’ve just received notice that the Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Fall Research Conference will contain a special asset building track called, “Building Wealth Over the Lifetime.”

APPAM is a premiere convening of social science researchers and the conference has been very supportive of assets researchers over the years. This year there are about 20 different panels that are asset building-focused or asset building related.

From “Asset Accounts in Early Childhood: Findings from the Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship, and Downpayment (SEED) Initiative” to “Improving Irrational Decision-Making: Applying Behavioral Economics to Asset Building” there are some truly fascinating panels and papers this year, and it’s a great measure of the progress being made in academia around asset building to have these policy focused researchers dedicating their time, effort, space and attention to these issues.

To see the full list of “Building Wealth Over the Lifetime” track and associated asset building panels, click here.