2005 - 2006 Emerging Scholars

2005-2006

Understanding the Role of Payday Loans in the Lives of Low-Income Workers Alexes Harris, Assistant Professor of Sociology, "Payday Lending and Economic Inequality"

Professor Harris is studying the role of credit markets for low-income individuals and, in particular, the role of “fringe credit market” institutions that provide high interest loans to individuals who have limited access to conventional bank and credit card instruments. Using an innovative fieldwork design involving student interviewers, she will interview individuals using payday loan outlets in the Puget Sound region. This study will advance our knowledge about credit markets and poverty by providing one of the first systematic examinations of the characteristics of individuals who use payday lending services and the consequences of these short-term, high-interest loans for their ability to meet immediate financial demands and accumulate assets.

Improving Low-Income Housing Policy Through Local Innovation Rachel Garshick Kleit & Stephen B. Page, Associate Professors of Public Affairs, "Innovation and Retrenchment Among Public Housing Authorities: Housing the Poorest of the Poor in the Northwest"

In this collaborative study, Professors Kleit and Page will bring together their respective expertise in low-income housing policy and public management to advance knowledge about local-level policy innovation. Using administrative and interview data collected from local housing authorities in the Puget Sound region, they will develop a typology to describe the response of local authorities to dramatic changes in federal policy, client demographics and local housing markets in recent years. By considering the role of both policy and management, their study will provide new insights into the factors that promote successful local innovation in housing policy for low-income communities.