Asset-ownership among low-income and low-wealth individuals: Opportunity, stakeholding, and civic engagement
Washington University, Ann Arbor, Ph.D., (2003)(ISSP).Abstract
This dissertation addresses the effects of asset-ownership on civic engagement. A social development theory is tested: if those of low-income and low-wealth have the opportunity to increase their asset-ownership and they do, then their civic engagement will increase. Opportunity and stakeholding through asset-ownership (e.g., financial savings, homeownership, and small business ownership) are conceived as influencing incentives and information for social and political engagement. The intervention tested is Individual Development Accounts (IDA), a matched savings program for the poor. It is hypothesized that opportunity or IDA participation and increased asset-ownership have direct effects on civic engagement, and that opportunity moderates the effects of asset-ownership. Data are from an IDA randomized experiment. Research methods are a repeated measures survey (18 month interval) with 933 respondents and in-depth interviews with 59 IDA participants and 25 controls. Using survey data, logistic regression assesses the effects of opportunity and asset-ownership on 11 civic behaviors, controlling for age, race/ethnicity, monthly income, receipt of means-tested income, and the given civic behavior at time 1. There are no statistically significant moderating effects. However, increased asset-ownership is a statistically significant predictor of social engagement through children, including attending school events (those whose total asset value increased are more likely), helping with a school fundraiser (new homeowners are more likely), and attending a PTA/PTO meeting (new business owners are more likely). In-depth interview findings operationalize the concept of opportunity, with IDA participants attributing the IDA to a chance to increase their capabilities and improve their well-being and construing it as an investment in them. Respondents describe a range of civic behaviors through church and community organizations primarily, and they identify lack of time and family demands as mediators of engagement. While tentative, these findings indicate that increased asset-ownership may be associated with civic engagement, suggesting implications for civic research, asset-based policy, and social work. Additional research is needed regarding the measurement and effects of asset-ownership, in general, and as a variable of concern in the study of civic engagement.