The Financial Clinic

“Asset-Building Godfather” Michael Sherraden to speak at The Financial Clinic’s 5-Year Anniversary

Michael Sherraden has made more than a dent in the financial development field. He has carved out one hell of a crevice.

Sherraden’s influential book, Assets and the Poor: A New American Welfare Policy, is just as significant today as it was upon publication 20 years ago. In Assets of the Poor, Sherraden presents a cutting-edge welfare policy proposal for a system of saving incentives through individual development accounts (IDAs) for investments such as college education, home ownership, and entrepreneurship. “The question of how to help the poor get rich is, in essence, the question of how to help them build assets,” he writes.

“He seeks a world in which success is a function of determination and merit, not privilege or political favor, writes Jane Wales, in the “2010 Time 100 Most Influential People in the World” list, alongside President Obama, Steve Jobs, and Oprah Winfrey.

In the Time article, Wales, the President of the Global Philanthropy Forum and Vice President of the Aspen Institute, credits Sherraden’s leadership on The Global Assets Project, for offering “things people in developed countries take as a given: savings accounts, insurance, investment capital.” The Global Assets Project’s mission is to advance public policies that build savings and assets for poor, low-, and moderate-income people around the world.

On October 12, The Financial Clinic will pay tribute to Sherraden during Caucus and Celebration, a five-year anniversary celebration in Manhattan. The professor will be recognized by the financial development community, alongside Mary McCormick, President of the Fund for the City of New York.

About Michael Sherraden

Michael Sherraden is the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development and Founding Director of the Brown School'sCenter for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr. Sherraden's work has received widespread recognition for its impact on public policy. He is the creator of the widely praised Individual Development Accounts, a matched savings program designed to help working poor people save money and accumulate assets. IDAs have been adopted in federal legislation and in more than 40 states.

Dr. Sherraden's work on assets has influenced policy development in the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Canada, and other countries around the world. He is also engaged in research and policy on civic engagement and productive aging. Dr. Sherraden has served as an adviser and consultant to the White House, Department of Treasury, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Health and Human Services, Carnegie Council, and many other organizations. He earned his AB from Harvard University, and his MSW and PhD from the University of Michigan.