RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · 2005 · 10 citations · 0 references
Social SciencesEconomicsSociologyBankingHousehold DemographyUrban FinanceCredit UnionsHousehold EconomicsHousehold Financial Decision-makingIncome DistributionMicrofinanceSavings InstitutionsCommunity FinanceConsumer Financial BehaviorHousehold Financial AccessHousehold Financial BehaviorHousehold Savings BehaviorLow IncomeLow-income Consumer BehaviorUrban Financial Institutions
In 2003 and 2004, MetroEdge conducted a survey of the financial behavior and attitudes of low- and moderate-income households in Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, DC. While the results are consistent with prior research that this population is less “banked” than the general public, they also show that much of the population uses both banks or credit unions and alternative financial institutions and systems for payments, credit and saving. Part of this is the result of network effects: checks are not a universally accepted means of payment in the community. The survey also shows a high correlation between saving and multiple forms of asset-building.