Viewing all posts with tag: savings  

Cash Flows vs Balance Sheets: How to Think about Short-term Savings

Last week’s edition of the faiVLive—co-presented with the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program—brought together researchers and practitioners to look at how low-income households use short-term savings, and what formal and informal financial tools and product features can help them achieve their savings goals. . . .

A short recap of some highlights follows, but if you missed the webinar, you can still watch it HERE. . . .

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New Publication: Exploring the Business Models Behind Microsavings

In a new paper, Exploring the Business Models Behind Microsavings, FAI affiliate Daniel Rozas seeks to disentangle some of the existing complications in the microsavings story by exploring several key questions:. . . .

  • How might one define the different models by which MFIs provide savings?
  • How are they distinguished, where are they more prevalent, and which institutions are more likely to adopt them?
  • And is there a difference in outcomes—in terms of cost, outreach, and profit?
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The Bail Trap: When a Lack of Savings Means Jail Time

Recently, The New York Times Magazine ran a feature on the bail process for petty crimes, with a focus on the Brooklyn, NY court system.  Although bail was historically set as a bond to ensure a defendant will return to court for trial, it is increasingly used as a tool for incarceration.  According to the article, at any given time, 450,000 individuals in the U.S. are held in detention awaiting trial because they were unable to pay their court-assigned bail.  A disproportionate number of these are poor. . . .

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