New longitudinal Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19 Survey calls for sustained public benefit support

The Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis (SPI) released new findings on the impact of COVID-19 on housing hardship, the importance of employment and associated benefits, such as the Payment Protection Program, family hardships, and efficiency of public benefits designed to support households in need, such as SNAP, TANF, and unemployment insurance benefits.

Why are 11% of Israelis still not vaccinated?

A new nationally representative survey from the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis (SPI) indicates that among the 11% of Israelis who are not vaccinated, 75% do not plan to get vaccinated.

20% of Israelis: The corona is a conspiracy of governments and pharmaceutical companies (Links to an external site)

The Marker covered our latest findings that 20% of Israelis believe that COVID-19 is a conspiracy by governments and pharmaceutical companies. These findings are the latest results from the Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19 in Israel. Hebrew title: 20% מהישראלים: הקורונה היא קנוניה של ממשלות וחברות תרופות

SPI researchers win awards for paper at ACCI Conference & VentureCafe STL Fellowship

Stephen Roll and Mathieu Despard, researchers at SPI, recently received the CFP© Board’s ACCI Financial Planning Paper Award for their paper on income loss and financial distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The award is given to a well-written paper that focuses on important financial planning issues which can be used by consumers, financial planning professionals, and policymakers […]

How do Americans say they will use direct cash transfers? The answer depends on the frequency and the amount of the payment

From discussions of universal basic income in the 2020 presidential debates to repeated stimulus checks during the COVID-19 pandemic, government cash transfers have received a lot of attention recently. When considering a cash transfer program, policymakers usually have an objective in mind, such as reducing economic inequality, improving households’ ability to meet basic needs, or […]

COVID-19 pandemic caused ‘mental crisis’ among Israeli youth (Links to an external site)

The Jerusalem Post discusses SPI research finding that Israeli children are experiencing a “mental crisis.” The report, based on a study conducted by Michal Grinstein-Weiss, director of SPI, and Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya together with Prof. Rami Benvenisti of Hebrew University, showed that one in five children – 21% and three times more than before the coronavirus crisis – are suffering from symptoms of anxiety.

The Complete Financial Lives of Workers: A Holistic Exploration of Work and Public and Workplace Benefit Arrangements (Links to an external site)

What does a complete look at the financial lives of workers reveal? A new report from Aspen Consumer Insights Collaborative via Aspen Financial Security Program illustrates how work arrangements and benefits together determine if  workers will have a reasonable shot at financial security. Learn how SPI’s research helped develop key insights in the report.

Childhood in the time of COVID (Links to an external site)

Save the Children shared results from the Social Policy Institute’s Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19 Survey were shared in a report on childhood hardship in the United States during the pandemic. Their report found that millions more children are going hungry, missing out on learning & falling into poverty.

Fear of safety and mistrust cause vaccine hesitancy in Israel

SPI asked respondents about their inclination to get a COVID-19 vaccine, as well as their perspectives toward the vaccine and pandemic overall. The results indicate certain religious groups are more hesitant to receive the vaccine than others, though the reasoning differs.

Cash assistance (TANF) recipients suffer the brunt of evictions despite the moratorium

New evidence from the Social Policy Institute’s multi-wave Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19 Survey shows that during the pandemic, TANF recipients were evicted at significantly higher rates than non-recipients, even when accounting for differences in demographics, income, assets, recent job loss, and how many months behind they are in rental payments.

COVID-19 School Meal Policies as Long-term Strategies to Fight Child Food Insecurity

In response to COVID-19 and the nationwide school closures that followed, the federal government passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Through these policies, the USDA was able to grant meal waivers to help schools and community organizations provide meals and snacks during COVID-related […]

The Babies in the River: Creating Equitable Safety Nets and Springboards to Opportunity

by Nisha G. Patel, Senior Fellow, SPI  Some 25 years ago, I was a bright-eyed, young, graduate student at the Brown School and I learned the parable of the babies in the river. The townspeople in a village noticed that babies were beginning to appear in a river and were in danger of getting swept away by the current. Some people immediately jumped into the river, scooping up the babies to save them from drowning. […]

Women with young children are disappearing from the Israeli workforce

Women with young children (0-14 years old) are twice as likely to experience unemployment as compared to men in the same situation, according to the longitudinal Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19 Survey in Israel, administered by the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis.