Toward universal, progressive, and lifelong asset building: introduction to the special issue on inclusive child development accounts

ABSTRACT

Child Development Accounts (CDAs) are subsidised savings or investment accounts that enable families to accumulate assets to invest in children’s long-term development. Ideally, CDAs are universal (everyone participates), progressive (greater subsidies for the poor) and lifelong (beginning at birth). This introduction provides a theoretical and policy background of CDAs in the global context, summarises seven papers in this volume and creates a vision for future CDA development.

KEYWORDS:

• Assets
• Asset-based social policy
• Child development
• Child development accounts
• Sovial investment

Disclosure statement

We thank colleagues at the National University of Singapore (NUS) for hosting the Child Development Account conference, Lee Geok Ling at NUS for editorial leadership of Asian Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development, John Gabbert of Washington University in St. Louis (WU) for editorial work for special issue, and our academic colleagues around the world who have authored this set of papers. No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael Sherraden

Michael Sherraden is the George Warren Brown Distinguished University Professor and Founding Director, Center for Social Development and Next Age Institute, Washington University in St. Louis.

Jin Huang

Jin Huang is an Associate Professor at School of Social Work, Saint Louis University and a faculty director of inclusion in asset building at Center for Social Development, Washington University in St. Louis.

Li Zou

Li Zou is the International Director, Center for Social Development and Next Age Institute, Washington University in St. Louis.