Senior Fellow
Center on Labor, Human Services and Population
"Low-income and minority families can acquire assets and become more financially secure if given the opportunity. Owning assets such as emergency savings, homes, and pensions can form a family's safety net and give low-income Americans a foothold in the middle class. Asset building is an important complement to our nation's largely income-and consumption-based social safety net. Yet the poor are frequently left out of existing asset-based policies, because these subsidies are provided through the tax code."
McKernan is a national asset-building and poverty expert with over 17 years of experience researching access to assets and credit for the poor, and the impact of welfare programs on the poor. She recently published the book Asset Building and Low-Income Families with Michael Sherraden, and is leading the Urban Institute's Opportunity and Ownership Project with Eugene Steuerle. She advised the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection about setting up a first-rate research unit. Prior to joining the Urban Institute in 1999, McKernan was lead economist on credit issues at the Federal Trade Commission. She was also a visiting and adjunct professor at Georgetown University.
McKernan has extensive experience using rigorous econometric methods and large national survey databases. Her research has been published in books, policy briefs, reports, and journal articles. It has also been presented at over 50 professional conferences and seminars. Her asset research includes the role of assets in helping families cope with adverse events, racial wealth disparities, the role of individual development accounts in sustaining homeownership, mortgage loan closing costs, and the alternative financial sector. In her poverty-related work, McKernan evaluates the effectiveness of social programs aiming to improve poverty and material hardship. She has a Ph.D. in Economics from Brown University.
Areas of expertise
Asset building, poverty, social safety net (e.g., TANF, SNAP, EITC), credit, alternative financial services
Selected Publications from Signe-Mary McKernan
Childhood Poverty Persistence: Facts and Consequences Weathering the Storm: Have IDAs Helped Low-Income Homebuyers Avoid Foreclosure? The Dynamics of Poverty in the United States: A Review of Data, Methods, and Findings Asset Building and Low-Income Families Enabling Families to Weather Emergencies and Develop The Role of AssetsPublications by topic:
Poverty and Safety Net
Low Income Working Familes
See all publications by Signe-Mary McKernan
Latest Research
