By Ashley Alman, New America Foundation

You probably brush your teeth every morning, a habit you started developing as soon as you were able to hold your own tooth brush. So, what if we applied the same logic to asset building – that as soon as you could grasp a handful of change, you started saving?

Youth gathering to attend the booster session. Image taken by Jaya Burathoki, Save the Children.

New Research Explains Savings Habits of Young People in Developing Nations

By Jamie Zimmerman and Clara Hogan, New America Foundation

Teens in poor nations want to save larger amounts of money over the long-term in secure places to pay for their education or to start a small business, which can be used to bump them up into a better set of opportunities, according to new research released last week by the YouthSave Initiative.

Image from Rani Deshpande, Save the Children

By Payal Pathak, New America Foundation

With the “golden age of behavioral research,” as New York Times columnist David Brooks recently described, comes a golden opportunity for the asset building and financial inclusion fields.  Indeed, the latest breakthroughs in social science and behavioral research beg – or perhaps even force – us to think differently about poverty reduction and the policies and mechanisms that can enable it.