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Barriers to Youth Connections to Work: The Case of Young People in the Low-Income Neighborhood of Caju in Rio de Janeiro

October 16, 2007

Malcolm Bush

This paper takes advantage of an unusually detailed family and youth survey conducted by the Institute for the Study of Work and Society (IETS) in Rio de Janeiro in the low-income community of Caju close to downtown Rio. It describes the weak educational background of Caju youth and some of the reasons for that weakness. The results emphasize the precarious nature of low-income youth’s educational achievements and their attachment to the job market. They also demonstrate the wide variance in youth characteristics even in a single low-income neighborhood.

 

Financial Services for People of Modest Means: Lessons from Low-Income Credit Unions

March 09, 2004

Marva Williams

Describes the regulatory and other industry trends that impact the penetration of lower-income markets by credit unions. The report recommends that the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) be amended to include credit unions.

Reinvestment Alert 29: Refund Anticipation Loan Usage Rates Negatively Impact the Asset Building Potential of the Earned Income Tax Credit

February 09, 2006

Tom Feltner

 

This report analyzes 2002 IRS tax return data to determine the impact of refund anticipation loan usage among EITC recipients in communities across Illinois. The report also calculates the total amount of EITC dollars spent on high cost tax preparation and refund anticipation loan products in these same areas.

Reinvestment Alert 32 - Combating the Perilous State of Lower-Income Workers’ Retirement Assets: The Recently Reenacted Federal Saver’s Credit Provides a Modest Opportunity for Asset Building

July 24, 2007

Malcolm Bush and Nathan Paufve

 

The report documents the decline in personal savings rates while explaining the recent saving incentive for lower-income people created by the federal Pension Protection Act of 2006.  While the credit is a modest step in the right direction for providing lower-income people the level of incentives currently provided to middle- and upper-income people, the report recommends that it be made refundable to expand its benefits to all income qualified tax payers.

Reinvestment Alert 31 - Measuring the Provision of Banking Services for the Underbanked: Recommendations for a More Effective Community Reinvestment Act Service Test

May 07, 2007

Geoff Smith, Malcolm Bush, and Nathan Paufve

This alert examines the service test evaluations of Chicago area large banks and thrifts to determine what information on services is collected and analyzed during the test procedures and looks at how regulators use these data to assess service test performance. The alert also discusses the limitations of the available data and makes recommendations for steps that might be taken to improve the effectiveness of the service test performance evaluation.