Two renowned research centers become one, with expanded leadership, a broader research agenda and greater potential for policy and program impacts. The start of this integration is a key step in the broader beginning of a new era of leadership and excellence in social development and policy at Washington University’s Brown School.
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This brief outlines the results of an assessment of Mobility Connection, a housing mobility program in St. Louis, Missouri. Mobility Connection is administered through Ascend STL and this assessment was conducted in partnership with the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis. Our research focused on answering the following questions: How do Mobility […]
November 10, 2018: 10:15 AM-11:45 AM McKinley – Mezz Level (Marriott Wardman Park) Panel Chairs: Nisha Patel, Robin HoodDiscussants: Jeremie Greer, Prosperity Now and David Newville, Prosperity Now
In today’s tight labor market, employers compete for talent and jobs are plentiful. And workers have choices…
Abstract As the gig economy plays an increasingly important role in the labor market, there is a need to understand the economic factors that influence participation in this sector. In this paper, we investigate how saving the federal tax refund affects gig economy participation for low-income online tax filers in the six months following tax […]
Bufe, S., Roll, S. P., Kondratjeva, O., Hardy, B., & Grinstein-Weiss, M. (2019). Does Savings Affect Participation in the Gig Economy? Evidence from a Tax Refund Field Experiment (SPI Working Paper 19-1). St. Louis, MO: Washington University, Social Policy Institute.
As the gig economy plays an increasingly important role in the labor market, there is a need to understand the economic factors that influence participation in this sector. In this paper, we investigate how saving the federal tax refund affects gig economy participation for low-income online tax filers in the six months following tax filing. […]
As the gig economy plays an increasingly important role in the labor market, there is a need to understand the economic factors that influence participation in this sector. In this paper, we investigate how saving the federal tax refund affects gig economy participation for low-income online tax filers in the six months following tax filing. […]
Centene Center for Health Transformation Faculty Director Matthew Kreuter, PhD has been recognized as one of the world’s most influential researchers by Stanford University in a recent study published in PLOS Biology.
Centene Center for Health Transformation Faculty Director Matthew Kreuter, PhD has been recognized as one of the world’s most influential researchers by Stanford University in a recent study published in PLOS Biology.
Financially burdened families’ savings get a shot in the arm with access to Medicaid, according to a new study from CU Boulder, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Washington University in St. Louis and Diego Portales University in Chile.
Tess Thompson, PhD, a faculty researcher at the Centene Center for Health Transformation, has been selected to share her findings during a Poster Session at the American Public Health Association’s 2019 Annual Meeting and Expo being held Nov. 2 through 6 in Philadelphia, Pa.
On September 24, the Social Policy Institute, a new university-wide initiative dedicated to addressing pressing social issues through empirical research, dissemination of evidence-informed policy, and training in social policy, launched at Washington University in St. Louis.
This is one research brief in a series of five completed through the Employee Financial Wellness Programs Project. In this study, we examine administrative data for national nonprofit Working Credit’s employee benefit, which combines credit building education, one-on-one counseling, and access to financial products to help workers establish good credit. Working Credit offers credit-building services […]
This is one research brief in a series of five completed through the Employee Financial Wellness Programs Project. In this study, we focus on a workplace credit-building counseling program. This service is offered by a non-profit service provider that combines credit-building education, one-on-one counseling, and access to financial products to help low-income workers establish good […]
This is one research brief in a series of five completed through the Employee Financial Wellness Programs Project. In this study, we analyze administrative data and interviews regarding Trusted Advisor, a workplace financial wellness benefit offering one-on-one counseling linked to vetted financial tools. The purpose of this study was to examine take-up, engagement, and financial […]
This is one research brief in a series of five completed through the Employee Financial Wellness Programs Project. In this study, we focus on an employer-sponsored small-dollar loan (ESSDL) product, TrueConnect loans, aimed at providing employees an affordable credit alternative to payday, auto title, and other high-cost loans. We present and discuss results of our […]
This is one research brief in a series of five completed through the Employee Financial Wellness Programs Project supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. In this study, we focus on the results of analyses of administrative data for Trusted Advisor, a workplace financial wellness benefit offering one-on-one counseling linked to vetted financial tools. This service […]
Washington University in St. Louis is launching the Social Policy Institute (SPI), a new university-wide initiative dedicated to addressing pressing social issues through empirical research, dissemination of evidence-informed policy, and training in social policy.
This research was funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. We thank them for their support but acknowledge that the findings and conclusions presented in this report are those of the authors alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation.The authors are grateful to Don Baylor at the Annie E. Casey Foundation […]
This research was funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. We thank them for their support but acknowledge that the findings and conclusions presented in this report are those of the authors alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation.The authors are grateful to Don Baylor at the Annie E. Casey Foundation […]
Job quality intervention pilot programs have the potential to help employers discover effective ways to recruit and retain frontline workers. The Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis offers insights into realistic ways to obtain data on your pilot program’s effectiveness and ideas about how to convey your results in ways that will garner support for your efforts.
Employee financial wellness programs (EFWPs) are a benefit innovation that promise to address the financial challenges of employees while also benefiting employers. Results from a mixed-methods study of employers suggest early adopters appear to be motivated primarily by a desire to help employees. EFWP success may depend on promotion by organizational champions. Programs that accommodate […]
Employee financial wellness programs have garnered a great deal of attention, but what do we really know about their impact on employees? The Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis presents hot-off-the-presses research on financial wellness program outcomes and discusses best practices in measurement.
Action steps for employers to make DCFSAs more usable and effective at reducing the child care cost burden. Project: Workforce Financial Stability Initiative
In 2017, the Israeli government implemented a universal child development account programme – the Saving for Every Child Program (SECP) – which establishes a personal savings account for every Israeli child and provides monthly deposits until the child turns 18. The SECP has the potential to provide substantial assets when children reach adulthood, but the […]
Child Development Accounts (CDAs) are savings or investment accounts typically opened at birth or during a child’s early years with the aim of promoting savings and asset accumulation for child development purposes, such as post-secondary education or homeownership. Beginning in January of 2017, the Israeli government established a universal CDA program called the Saving for […]
The Centene Center for Health Transformation™ announces its first published academic research paper based on interviews conducted with parents on how to better engage members in Raising Well, Envolve’s family-centered pediatric obesity intervention program.
University-wide institute to advance the influence of research in innovating policy solutions
Child Development Accounts (CDAs) are savings or investment accounts opened for children at birth or at early ages with the goal to promote savings and asset accumulation for long-term development (e.g., education, homeownership, or business development). Beginning in January of 2017, the Israeli government established a universal CDA program called Saving for Every Child Program […]
Julie O’Brien, PhD will join other esteemed panelists at this year’s Medicaid Health Plans of America (MHPA) Conference to discuss research findings on health and unmet basic needs conducted by the Centene Center for Health Transformation.
Centene Center for Health Transformation faculty researcher Tess Thompson, PhD has been named the recipient of a Mentored Research Scholar Grant in Applied and Clinical Research (MRSG-19-086-01-CPPB) from the American Cancer Society.
Centene Center Faculty Director and behavior economics researcher, Dan Ariely, PhD, MA, recently discussed spending habits and how to feel richer on CNBC.
People who take advantage of nonprofit credit counseling services have statistically significant reductions in consumer debt, finds a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.
Centene Center Faculty Director and behavior economics researcher, Dan Ariely, PhD, MA, talks with ThinkAdvisor about the future of financial advice and how he sees the role of financial advisor evolving over time. He discusses why the usual motivator of paying people can backfire, as well as why people make irrational decisions regarding their money. Rusoff, J. W.
The newly established Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis has received a $385,000 grant from JPMorgan Chase & Co. as part of the company’s $125 million, five-year global commitment to promoting customers’ financial health.
Low- and moderate-income employees’ financial lives can be complicated and the challenge of making ends meet may distract them at work. Employers can offer evidence-informed workplace financial products and services targeted towards LMI employees to improve stability and increase wealth.
The Time is Now is a powerful convening of workforce development professionals, employers, frontline workers, and funders. This two-day event will advance the learning agenda on critical workforce issues.
The Social Policy Institute welcomes Kathy Kraninger, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, who will be giving remarks on the importance of promoting financial security and financial well-being and discussing a new savings initiative from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Co-sponsored by the Clark-Fox Policy Institute, the Gephardt Institute for Civic & Community Engagement and the CFPB.
Kathy Kraninger, who was named director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) six months ago, spoke about the bureau’s new directions and initiatives in savings policy in Hillman Hall’s Clark-Fox Forum. Michal Grinstein-Weiss, professor in Brown School and SPI director, will oversee a panel focused on the importance of savings in economically vulnerable communities.
In a recent study conducted by the Centene Center for Health Transformation, Medicaid, and commercially insured individuals shared their top resources for learning about health topics. Not surprising, both groups communicated that their top three sources were the Internet, doctors/healthcare providers, and valued personal supporters such as family members of friends, preferably those with health-related training like nurses.
To provide the opportunity for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the Bureau) Tax Time Savings Initiative Cohort partners to meet in person and share ideas on ways that Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs can increase economic stability through the improved use of savings products and services.
Research results from a recent study completed by the Centene Center for Health Transformation show that the more unmet social needs someone has, the more barriers to self-care, worse health behaviors, and worse health outcomes they experience.
In June 2018, the Board of Governors of The Jewish Agency for Israel unanimously elected Isaac Herzog to succeed Natan Sharansky as the Chairman of the Executive of this historic and influential organization.
This Centene Center for Health Transformation™ video highlights the growing diabetes epidemic and the Centene Center’s collaborative research on the behavioral factors that impact diabetes management.
Despard, M.; Hosted by Business Solver
Frank-Miller, E.; Hosted by the National Fund for Workforce Solutions
Schoenherr, N. When Israel implemented a child development account policy, 65 percent of households actively enrolled in the first 6 months, research finds.
Germain, G.; Speaker at the National Credit Union Foundation’s CUF in Health Conference, Las Vegas, NV.
Schoenherr, N. A new analysis by the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis examines enrollment and participation trends in a newly implemented national Israeli child development account (CDA) policy, finding that 65 percent of households actively enrolled in the program during the first six months.