Material Hardship among Lower-Income Households: The Role of Liquid Assets and Place

Author

Mathieu Despard, Washington University in St. Louis
Valerie Taing, The University Of Michigan
Addie Weaver, The University Of Michigan
Stephen Roll, Washington University in St. Louis
Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Washington University in St. Louis

Publication Date

6-12-2020

Publisher

Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis

Summary

Lower income households are at risk for material hardship, particularly amidst the economic fallout of COVID-19. Where one lives (e.g. suburb, small town) may affect this risk due to variable access to resources, yet the evidence is mixed concerning the influence of place. We used a pooled, national cross-sectional sample of 66,046 lower-income tax filers to examine differences in material hardship in rural, small town, micropolitan, and urban areas. Controlling only for standard demographic variables, hardship risk appears higher in non-urban areas, yet these differences disappear after controlling for financial characteristics such as liquid assets and home ownership.

Document Type

Working Paper

Notes

This document is the unedited author’s version of a submitted work that was subsequently accepted for publication in Journal of Poverty, copyright ©️ 2021 after peer review. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1080/10875549.2021.1925801

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7936/sm16-ap78

Project

Refund to Savings (R2S)

Recommended Citation

Despard, Mathieu; Taing, Valerie; Weaver, Addie; Roll, Stephen; and Grinstein-Weiss, Michal, "Material Hardship among Lower-Income Households: The Role of Liquid Assets and Place" (2020). Social Policy Institute Research. 33.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/spi_research/33