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Personal Finance

Personal Savings
commentary
What the Shutdown Revealed About the Fragility of American Life
Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_
Feb 11, 2019
RealClearPolicy
The government shutdown highlighted the lack of resilience many suffer from when they encounter unexpected economic events. The median American family has been losing ground for decades. Policy responses to address this situation will be complex and difficult, but are much needed.
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Adult Populations
commentary
What Keeps Millennials Awake at Night Could Change Over Time
Marek N. Posard @mnposard, Jennifer Kavanagh @jekavanagh, Kathryn Edwards
Jul 30, 2018
United Press International
Millennials are less worried than baby boomers about national security topics and more worried about kitchen table issues, such as making ends meet each month and paying off debts. But this may have less to do with the fact that they are millennials and more to do with the fact that millennials are young.
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Postsecondary Education
commentary
Is College Worth the Expense? Yes, It Is
Rafiq Dossani
May 22, 2017
Inside Sources
Many American students struggle with the soaring cost of higher education. And for many college students, debt can have severe negative implications. But on balance, the benefits of a college degree appear to outweigh the costs.
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Personal Finance
commentary
We Still Know Little About Financial Well-Being
Marco Hafner @econ_hafner, Christian Van Stolk
Feb 20, 2017
HRZone
There is a clear link between UK employees being concerned about their finances and negative health and well-being. The challenge for researchers is that financial well-being is hard to measure.
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Economic Policy
commentary
Trends in Inequality and the World's Eight Richest Men
Ernesto F. L. Amaral, Carter C. Price @CarterCPrice
Feb 10, 2017
U.S. News & World Report
While Oxfam reports have done a good job of bringing attention to the problem of inequality, they may lead the public and policymakers to believe that global inequality has been rising instead of falling. Global inequality has actually been on the decline while inequality within the developed world is increasing.
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Economics
commentary
Book Review: 'Bourgeois Equality'
Charles Wolf, Jr.
Sep 30, 2016
The Weekly Standard
In Bourgeois Equality, economist and historian Deirdre McCloskey advances the theory that ideas — not capital, institutions, innovation, R&D, tax policy, monetary policy, or regulatory policy — are the propelling force behind economic and societal growth.
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Retirement and Retirement Benefits
commentary
You're Never Too Young to Plan for Retirement
Jeremy Burke, Angela A. Hung
Sep 2, 2016
The RAND Blog
Saving early for retirement is critical, but it's also important to stay on track during job changes. Younger workers tend to change jobs often, and if they cash out of their plans with each position, that can affect their long-term savings.
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Economic Policy
commentary
Fixing Inequality of Opportunity
Carter C. Price @CarterCPrice
Jul 6, 2016
Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity
Research has fueled concerns about how income inequality drives inequality of opportunity. Commonsense approaches such as improvements in education and access to quality health care have been shown to provide young people with better opportunities.
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Economic Policy
commentary
Zero Interest, Greater Inequality?
Charles Wolf, Jr.
Nov 2, 2015
U.S. News & World Report
Low interest rates mandated by the Federal Reserve may have had and possibly continue to have adverse effects on income inequality. Those who argue for continuing near-zero short-term interest rate policy should be cognizant of this.
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Economic Policy
commentary
Do Young 'Elites' Favor Income Redistribution?
Michael Pollard, Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman
Oct 8, 2015
The RAND Blog
Young 'elites' -- employed Americans who are 40 or younger, with high household incomes and graduate degrees -- and especially Democratic elites have a strong preference for income redistribution.
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Health Behaviors
commentary
Paying People to Change Behaviour in the UK: Lessons from Latin America
Christian Van Stolk
Mar 30, 2015
The RAND Blog
Policymakers in Western countries seeking new policy levers to tackle costly lifestyle behaviors in the age of austerity may do well to take up programs based on cash incentives. Recent analysis of conditional payment programs in Latin America highlights some useful lessons.
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Economic Policy
commentary
Growth Versus Equality: Striking the Right Balance
Charles Wolf, Jr.
Jan 30, 2015
The Weekly Standard
There's a difficult trade-off between income equality and the growth that comes from successful innovation. But one doesn't have to overwhelm the other.
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Politics and Government
commentary
New Survey Data Indicates Increasing Polarization in the Ways Democrats and Republicans View the Role of Government in Reducing Income Inequality
Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman, Michael Pollard
Oct 9, 2014
The RAND Blog
Today, Democrats are more than six times likelier than Republicans to believe the U.S. government should play a role in reducing income inequality. This is not due to differences in age, gender, education, or income distributions among the two parties.
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Affordable Care Act
commentary
Understanding the Affordable Care Act
Sebastian Bauhoff, Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman, Amelie Wuppermann
Oct 2, 2013
The Health Care Blog
One of the chief aims of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the expansion of insurance coverage to individuals who at present either cannot afford it or choose not to purchase it. Unfortunately, many Americans lack the financial literacy needed to navigate the numerous and complex options thrust upon them by the ACA.
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