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In 1991, Michael Sherraden published the groundbreaking Assets and the Poor, arguing that poverty must be understood and solved in terms of assets, not just income. This seemingly simple idea has had a profound impact, offering a novel and consequential perspective on overcoming poverty.  His ideas have heavily influenced policymakers, researchers, non-profits, foundations, and others worldwide.  Today, the Ladder salutes Michael, whose work has been recognized in the Time 100, a list of the world’s most influential people by .  In 2006, The Asset Building Program at ¹ú²úÊÓƵ Foundation and CSD launched the – cited by TIME Magazine in its – to promote asset building worldwide. 

The Global Assets Project (GAP) aims to advance public policies that build savings and assets for poor, low- and moderate-income persons around the world.  In 2007, the Global Assets Project hosted the first ever Symposium on Savings, Assets and Financial Inclusion in Singapore. And more recently, GAP has partnered with Save the Children and CGAP to explore barriers to access to savings services for low-income youth in developing countries. This consortium – known as YouthSave – is releasing a report based on its first year of collaboration, Youth Savings in Developing Countries: Trends in Practice, Gaps In Knowledge this Thursday, May 6th, at the ¹ú²úÊÓƵ Foundation in conjunction with a public event to discuss the same. A number of distinguished panelists, including Michael Sherraden, will be discussing the potential and challenges of youth savings accounts as a development tool. For more about this event, click .

Sherraden is Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis, and the founder and director of the (CSD) at Washington University’s Brown School. 

Click for the full article and  to learn more about Sherraden’s work.