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In Israel, households with children are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic

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Like many families across the globe, Israeli families have been facing the challenges of raising children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only do Israeli families have to adjust to large changes in their child(ren)’s schooling, but they are also forced to cope with the financial shocks, such as job and/or income loss that come with […]

The Far-Reaching Impacts of COVID-19 on the Financial Lives of Israelis – Differences by Religion and Ethnicity

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Press Release: October 25, 2020 With a COVID-19 death toll exceeding 2,000, Israel now has one of the highest per capita deaths in the world. Feelings of frustration and despair have resulted in the largest anti-government demonstrations since the establishment of the country, emphasizing that a central crisis during the COVID-19 is a growing divide […]

Three reasons young Israeli adults may face catastrophic, long-term financial burden from COVID-19

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Press Release: September 25, 2020 The potentially catastrophic, long-term financial impacts of COVID-19 on young adults are highlighted in the Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19 Survey[1] in Israel, which was administered between June 4 and July 1 by the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis in partnership with Mastercard. The survey results found […]

Hardship is greatest among vulnerable Israelis already struggling financially

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By: Olga Kondratjeva, data analyst III, Social Policy Institute; Michal Grinstein-Weiss, director, Social Policy Institute; Talia Schwartz-Tayri, researcher, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; John Gal, professor, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; senior researcher, the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel; & Stephen Roll, […]

Challenges and Opportunities in Developing Child Savings Programs in Israel and Uganda: Oct. 15

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From 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (CT) on Oct. 15, join the Social Policy Institute (SPI), the International Center for Child Health and Development (ICHAD), and the Next Age Institute (NAI) for a discussion about asset building for long-term child development and CSA programs—with the particular focus on CSAs in Israel and Uganda, which differ greatly in their structure.

Household Savings Decisions in Israel’s Child Savings Program: The Role of Demographic, Financial, and Intrinsic Factors

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Israel’s Child Development Account (CDA) program, the Savings for Every Child Program (SECP), is universal and automatically enrolls all children under the age of 18, depositing approximately $14 into their accounts every month. Parents can transfer an additional monthly $14 into these long-term savings accounts and can choose an investment vehicle for their children’s deposits. […]

The Saving for Every Child Program in Israel: an overview of a universal asset-building policy

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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 […]

Enrollment and participation in a universal child savings program: Evidence from the rollout of Israel’s National Program

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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 […]

Child Development Accounts in Israel

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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 […]

Israel’s First Social Impact Nudgeathon (Links to an external site)

JDC Entwine •

The study of our own irrationality is called Behavioral Economics. And, thanks to Professors Dan Ariely and Michal Grinstein-Weiss, we held the first-ever social impact Nudgeathon at JDC Israel last week to make sure JDC Israel’s critical programs factor in the inherent irrationality of human decision making. Fishman, O.

Revealing Barriers to Cyber-Protection Among Small and Medium Businesses

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Introduction Small and medium businesses (SMBs) contribute significantly to the global economy. According to the World Bank, SMBs represent 90% of businesses and more than 50% of employment worldwide. In addition, SMB ownership helps facilitate upward social mobility by building wealth and assets. However, even though the financial gain of owning a business is high, […]

Changes in food insecurity levels during the COVID-19 economic crisis: Differences based on sociodemographic factors

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By Oren Heller, research director, Israel; Yaniv Shlomo, Data Analyst, Israel; Hayley Kalb, communications assistant; Michal Grinstein-Weiss, founding director Food insecurity is a national problem with short and long-term consequences that harm the economy and society. This problem was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the labor market changed, affecting the disposable income of many […]

Lessons from a global team

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I truly believe we can accomplish more by stepping outside of our own culture and seek to understand and learn from each other. This is what makes SPI’s global approach to its work so impactful. I look forward to hosting WashU colleagues in Israel next time.

Dan Vilenchik

Senior Lecturer, Department of Communication Systems Engineering

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Introducing new associate directors

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Friends of SPI, I am delighted to announce three new Social Policy Institute associate directors! SPI has grown significantly since its launch in 2019 and our new associate directors will ensure we continue to generate important evidence and policy-passionate leaders needed to inform equitable policies and inclusive communities. I hope you will join me in […]

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New Year greetings from the director

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Thank you for being a valued member of the Social Policy Institute community this past year. I am extremely proud of our team—staff, faculty affiliates, funders and community partners—who work so hard to make the world more equitable for everyone. Our mission to make the world more equitable by applying innovative, evidence-based solutions to complex social problems […]

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

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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.

Food Insecurity (Links to an external site)

Galgalatz •

Galgalatz covered the results of a new SPI survey which examined the threat of food insecurity among families in Israel.  

The Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19 Study: Survey Methodology Report

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When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, and economic shutdowns began in March 2020, households across the United States were faced with an unprecedented crisis that would affect their health, financial security and overall well-being for an unforeseeable amount of time. In order to examine and track the wide-ranging impacts of the pandemic on households, as […]