These are the main outfits on IDA's:
http://www.welfareinfo.org/individu.asp
http://www.cfpa.org/issues/econdev/ida/index.cfm
Also see "Assets and the Poor," by Michael Sherraden (now at George Washington Univ in D.C.)
In principle the IDA concept has more general applications. For instance, the Clinton-Gore proposal to give everyone their own little IRA, with the gov matching contributions for low-income persons. There is a tax literature on streamlining the whole tax-subsidized savings system, with options for progressive subsidies at the bottom. Social Security privatization is a cousin of this approach.
The states are glomming onto the changes in Federal tax law that permit people to contribute into a tax-preferred account for their children's college education. And there is Bruce Ackerman/Anne Alstott's proposal for a mega- IDA for children in The Stakeholder Society.
Then there is the World Bank stuff about microcredit that Henwood rants about.
But if we're on the restricted issue of IDA's as an anti-poverty device in the U.S., the CFED site at the top is the place to start. Also check the DLC/PPI, and the Federal Dept of Health and Human Services sites (IDA's are part of TANF). the DLC, Bill Clinton, George Bush, and Allen Greenspan are all for IDA's. How could they be bad?
I'm interested in this myself so if you want to shoot the shit some more, drop me a line or call.
max
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> does anyone (max maybe?) know of any good articles about low income asset
> accumulation assistance programs like individual development accounts?
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> thanks
> alex
>