A key concept in economics is fungibility – that a “dollar is a dollar is a dollar.” However, money also carries cultural and social significance. In The Social Meaning of Money, Viviana Zelizer argues that people attach different meanings to different income sources. A new publication from FAI Executive Director Jonathan Morduch reviews Zelizer’s book and applies key lessons to the economic study of poor households:
Economists are more comfortable with the idea of earmarking funds in particular saving accounts (a mainstay of behavioral economics) than with the idea of earmarking particular income sources. The accumulating evidence echoes the archival evidence in Zelizer (1994), however, showing that earmarking income is a common mode of budgeting, especially when resources are scarce and relationships within households are conflictual. There is much more work to be done in exploring the phenomenon with an economic lens.
To read the complete publication, click here.
Editor’s Note: I’m going to assume that you are seeing plenty of AI content (news and papers, not AI slop, though I’m sure you’re getting plenty of that too) from other sources, so I’m trying to think hard about the marginal value that the faiV can provide. As far as I’ve gotten so far: a) make sure that directly AI-related content does not take up more than 2 of the 5 items, and b) try to focus specifically on the cybersecurity issue for financial inclusion. Beyond that, I’m open to feedback on the value you get from the faiV in relation to AI to help guide us in the future. On a different note, I’ll be making a brief cameo appearance at the e-MFP Inclusive Finance Conference to moderate the opening plenary. If you haven’t registered, do so and I hope to see you there! - Tim Ogden