Savings has traditionally been measured by asking about “account” balances, or in national accounts by comparing incomes to expenditures. But we know that low-income households often save actively. They build up and draw down their funds throughout the year—what Nobel Laureate Angus Deaton termed “high frequency savings”—even if their balances don’t grow. Short-term savings are a key part of the financial lives of low-income households in the US and in developing countries; the challenges they face in building up and effectively using their savings are quite similar as well. This edition of faiVLive—co-presented with the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program—brought together researchers and practitioners to look at how short-term savings work and don’t work, with a particular eye to whether and how savings for low-income households can be boosted.
Featuring Jonathan Morduch, Jessica Goldberg, Jonathan Lee, and Genevieve Melford.
Co-hosted with The Aspen Institute and moderated by Timothy Ogden
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