Abt Associates. 2000. Evaluation of asset accumulation initiatives (final report). (On-line: cited 23 March 2004). A report on 16 local programs to help the poor build assets.

Beverly, Sondra G., Jennifer Tescher, and David Marzahl. 2000. Linking tax refunds and low-cost bank accounts. Center for Social Development, Washington University. (On-line: cited 13 February 2003). A case study of participants in the Extra Credit savings program, run by Shorebank, a community development financial institution in Chicago, and the Center for Law and Human Services, a nonprofit organization. The program offered no-fee and no minimum balance savings account for Earned Income Tax Credit deposits. The authors found that concerns about privacy and having enough money to start an account were barriers to participation.

Haveman, Robert and Edward N. Wolff. 2000. Who are the asset-poor? Levels, trends, and composition, 1983-1998. Center for Social Development, Washington University. (On-line: cited 13 February 2003). The authors calculate levels of asset-poverty—people who do not have enough assets to live on for three months. They find that levels of asset poverty are significantly higher than poverty levels using measures based on income, and actually rose during the 1990s as conventional poverty measures showed poverty declining.

Kim, Anne. 2001. Taking the poor into account: What banks can do to better serve low-income markets. Washington, D.C.: Progressive Policy Institute. (On-line: cited 13 February 2003). A review of research evaluating the greatest challenges to enrolling people in low-cost banking accounts, and analysis of why state efforts to initiate these accounts are rarely successful.

McLenighan, Valjean and Kathryn Tholin. 1997. Partners in community building: Mainstream and community development financial institutions. Chicago, IL: Woodstock Institute. (On-line: cited 13 February 2003). A case study of several community development financial institutions such as banks, credit unions, and community development loan funds. The federal government created these institutions in 1995 with matching funds. They recommend that these organizations partner with banks to act as a bridge to the unbanked, and in order to obtain diversification of underwriting.

Miller-Adams, Michelle. 2002. Owning up: Poverty, assets and the American dream. Washington, D.C.: Brookings. Policy analysis of the difficulty for the poor in amassing assets and case studies of different programs designed to help low-income people build assets, particularly housing.

New America Foundation. 2004. Asset building overview. (On-line: cited on 23 March 2004). An overview of IDAs, including links to active programs and more statistics.

Oliver, Melvin L., and Thomas M. Shapiro. 1995. Black wealth/White wealth: A new perspective on racial inequality. New York: Routledge. The authors argue that wealth, rather than income, is the key to understanding the racial economic gap. They discuss the political and social factors that contributed to the gap, and offer recommendations to help blacks build wealth.

Page-Adams, Deborah. 2002. Downpayments on the American Dream Demonstration: A national demonstration of Individual Development Accounts. Center for Social Development, Washington University. (On-line: cited 13 February 2003). Describes a demonstration project at thirteen sites that offer Individual Development Accounts.

Sherraden, Michael. 1991. Assets and the poor. New York: M.E. Sharpe. Sherraden argues that institutional, rather than behavioral, factors account for the inability of some groups, particularly the poor and minorities, to amass assets. He proposes individual development accounts as a way to help the poor save income.

Sherraden, Michael, Lissa Johnson, Margaret Clancy, Sondra Beverly, Mark Schreiner, Min Zhan, and Jami Curley. 2000. Saving patterns in Individual Development Account programs: Downpayments on the American Dream Policy Demonstration. Center for Social Development, Washington University. (On-line: cited 13 February 2003). The second-year evaluation of the American Dream Demonstration Project, which offers Individual Development Accounts at thirteen sites across the country. Each chapter of the report is available as a separate PDF file, which can be linked from the site listed above.

Tholin, Kathryn. 1996. Credit unions and communities: Breaking new ground in affordable mortgage lending. Chicago, IL: Woodstock Institute. (On-line: cited 13 February 2003). A summary of research on the most effective strategies for credit unions.

Wagmiller, Robert. 2003. Debt and assets among low-income families. (On-line: cited on 23 March 2004). A statistical portrait of the levels and types of debt in low-income families. New York: National Center for Children in Poverty.