Heterogeneous effects of Child Development Accounts on savings for children's education

J Huang, Y Kim, M Sherraden… - Journal of Policy Practice, 2017 - Taylor & Francis
Journal of Policy Practice, 2017Taylor & Francis
We examine effects of Child Development Accounts on savings for postsecondary education
in a statewide experiment (N= 2,677), which automatically opened state-owned college
savings accounts for treatment-group children, and encouraged their caregivers to open and
save in participant-owned college savings accounts. The experiment achieves universal
participation for children in the treatment group; almost all treatment-group children hold an
account with more than 1,000incollegeassets.Treatmentparticipantsweexpectwouldholdth …
Abstract
We examine effects of Child Development Accounts on savings for postsecondary education in a statewide experiment (N = 2,677), which automatically opened state-owned college savings accounts for treatment-group children, and encouraged their caregivers to open and save in participant-owned college savings accounts. The experiment achieves universal participation for children in the treatment group; almost all treatment-group children hold an account with more than $1,000 in college assets. Treatment participants we expect would hold their own participant-owned accounts without the intervention have $395 more in savings than their counterparts in the control group; those who are motivated by the intervention to hold a participant-owned account have mean deposits of $888. Those who are motivated by the intervention to save have mean deposits of $1,826. The intervention reduces the socioeconomic disparity in asset accumulation for children. The program has the potential to promote asset building for children’s education.
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