Wealth Building Research Articles

Farm-to-hospital programs and public health: Leveraging local food for organizational and behavioral change

Farm-to-hospital (FTH) programs have emerged over the last decade as an approach for hospitals to leverage their buying power and growing influence in the food system to support healthier eating hab­its, as well as stimulate local economic develop­ment and community wealth building, often within a broader set of policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) interventions. While FTH programs have increased in prominence over the last decade, sev­eral challenges prevent widespread adoption. These include distributor contracts that limit outside pur­chases, logistical challenges receiving products from local vendors, and a lack of buy-in from key decision-makers. These challenges frequently reflect foodservice operations organized to maxim­ize revenue, which lends itself to an approach that sources cheap and unhealthy food products. In this paper, we present findings from a case study of two hospitals part of the University of Wisconsin Health system in their efforts to develop a farm-to-hospital program from 2008 to 2017. Specifically, we study the organizational strategies used by the We Are Health Committee (WAHC) and its infor­mal predecessors to create the conditions to facili­tate and encourage local food procurement. We find that stakeholders reorganized their foodservice operations around the value of supporting public health, leveraging their clinics’ mission as a public health institution. This resulted in the creation of new organizational structures and roles, including merging their nutritional and foodservice depart­ments, creating the infrastructure for institution-wide change. Local food procurement was per­ceived as a means to develop nutritional interven­tions targeting the availability of healthier food items without creating the perception of paternal­ism among visitors. Finally, as stakeholders observed the local economic impact of their pur­chasing decisions, the values of their foodservice evolved to explicitly include supporting local eco­nomic development, resulting in an evolution of their relationship with their broadline distributor to facilitate increased local food purchases.

Color lines: Disparities in pharmacy treatment, education, and practice

Color lines: Disparities in pharmacy treatment, education, and practice

The Mental Health And Wellbeing Impact of A Community Wealth Building Programme – A Difference-In-Differences Study

The Mental Health And Wellbeing Impact of A Community Wealth Building Programme – A Difference-In-Differences Study

The environmental consequences of residential land tenure in single family neighborhoods

There is a need for better understanding of urban land systems as cities around the world are confronting environmental change. One urban land system that has large implications for biophysical systems, but is especially difficult to manage are private residential neighborhoods. This perspective essay draws together previously disconnected scholarship on housing and land systems to define residential land tenure: the formal and informal rules, rights, and obligations to access, use, and transfer a land parcel by virtue of those assigned to the dwelling it contains. The environmental consequences of residential land tenure are illustrated using the example of compulsory collective governance, a housing tenure arrangement that has become part and parcel with single family detached residential subdivisions across the Anglosphere. Under this regime, land holders forfeit control in exchange for wealth building potential centered on aesthetics. The consequences for the environment are largest where statutory law is weak and pro-environmental action does not align with aesthetics-driven wealth building goals. Broadly, the example illustrates how urban land institutions operating primarily in the social realm can also be understood as de facto land managers in urban contexts.

Equality and Closure: The Paradox of Local Citizenship

In Bourgeois Utopias, a cultural history of suburbia in America, Robert Fishman states the fundamental paradox about the suburbs: “[H]ow can a form based on the principle of exclusion include every-one?” The promise of the American suburb was that every middle-class family would be able to own a home with a yard, but this egalitarian ideal was illusory because what made the suburbs appealing was precisely what it excluded, namely everything having to do with the city—its congestion, political corruption, and most importantly, its racial diversity. And so, as suburbia was mass-produced and made avail-able with cheap low-interest loans to white middle-class families, racial minorities were rigidly excluded. Although several waves of demographic change have reshaped the suburbs over the generations, this paradox remains evident today. Suburbs are becoming more dense and more diverse as many minorities have migrated from “inner cities” toward first-ring suburbs, and immigrants have found welcoming enclaves in the suburbs. But while suburbs have grown more diverse, they have also grown more segregated. High opportunity suburbs with plentiful jobs and good schools mandate low-density sprawl through zoning regulations, like mini-mum lot size and floor area requirements, parking mandates, and set-backs, that have the cumulative effect of making housing scarce and expensive. Only the very affluent or those lucky enough to have purchased a home years ago are welcome in these places. Racial minorities who, thanks to the earlier generation of suburban exclusion, have not had the opportunity to build the inter-generational wealth that is often a prerequisite to purchasing a home in the suburbs still find themselves locked out of the most desirable communities. The infra-structure of suburban communities, such as roads, sewers, and schools, are designed, perhaps deliberately, to completely collapse if the number of users increases by even a small amount, so these communities fiercely oppose any efforts to densify and permit more housing. Even modest attempts at densification are treated as calls to destroy suburban neighborhoods. But because our society has made a decision, undoubtedly questionable in retrospect, to treat suburban homeownership as the central tool for wealth building in this country, we cannot hope to meet our national aspirations for equality without opening up our suburbs to more housing. And so the question re-mains—how can a form based on the principle of exclusion include everyone?

From upstart city to ‘ghost’ city: informal housing finance in Ordos, China

This paper applies the perspective of informality to examine the nexus between informal housing finance and housing markets in China. The study explores the causes, formation, influences and consequences of informal housing financing mechanisms in Ordos. It argues that informal housing finance contributes to the local property market boom and becomes an instrument of wealth building through homeownership, but classifies and reinforces social classes based on their gains from the property market. The study discusses the possibilities of institutionalizing informal housing finance and diversifying economic structures, with special consideration of resource-based frontier cities.

Proceedings From the Conference on the Impact of Housing Affordability on Economic Development and Regional Labor Markets

Housing affordability is an important component of economic development. It affects several levers for regional growth, including business formation, through wealth building and influencing entrepreneurship. Housing affordability also affects location decisions—of both labor and employers. These proceedings document findings from research presented at a conference titled “The Impact of Housing Affordability on Economic Development and Regional Labor Markets” sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. The analysis presented at the conference suggests that higher-cost housing can trigger productive workers to leave markets and may limit the ability of workers, especially African American workers, to enter the labor market. At the same time, large economic development projects can displace workers. Research suggests that land use regulation is a driver of housing affordability; typically, higher levels of regulation lead to higher costs. Also, the efforts of economic developers affect local policies, like regulation and zoning, to attract firms. Discussion at the conference suggested housing issues be more integral to economic development policy and that new and expanded measures of housing affordability be used to track affordability.

CasaClima R: a protocol for energy refurbishment supported by verification tools

This paper presents a reproducible framework for the energy refurbishment of existing buildings. It is constituted by the CasaClima R protocol, a certification procedure described by the “Technical Directive CasaClima R” and aimed at exploiting the energy potential of buildings on a case-by-case basis. Some verification tools support the protocol in order to avoid errors occurring during the planning and construction phase, that could lead to damages of the building´s substance and could cause problems to the health and well-being of the occupants. The implementation and application methods of all framework components and possible future developments will be described, considering the great wealth of historical buildings in Italy and Europe and the great potential for energy savings that can be achieved.

Employee Ownership: Structuring Opportunities for Racial Wealth Building and Family Well-Being

Policies and practices of the 19th and 20th centuries have had a lasting impact into this century. This is most evident when examining racialized wealth inequality between Black and White families. This study of low-income employee owners examines the following questions: (1) Does employee ownership reduce the racial wealth gap? (2) How does employee ownership reduce the racial wealth gap, and (3) To what effect does employee ownership reduce the racial wealth gap? Findings indicate employee ownership impacts wealth building, advancement opportunities, and family economic security among Black employees and other marginalized populations. Policy and practice implications to advance employee ownership to address racial wealth inequality are highlighted.

‘Reopen the Coal Mines’? Deindustrialisation and the Labour Party

AbstractDifferent groups on the left have invested a variety of cultural meanings in the image of the British miner and the mining community. Tracing these over time, this article suggests that mythologised images of the solidaristic miner and the ‘traditional’ mining community flatten and simplify our understanding of the past, and of change over time in Britain's coalfields in the era of deindustrialisation since the mid‐1950s. Oral history interviews conducted in the coalfields suggest that while much has been lost—most importantly, decent jobs, strong local economies and certain community ties—there have also been gains, such as growing egalitarianism in gender roles. Finally, the article suggests that an industrial strategy, but more importantly, a raft of policies such as community wealth building and Foundational Economy strategies are needed to bring back some of what has been lost while also working with the grain of more positive social changes.

Enhancing the heritage conservation by Sustaining Historical Buildings: Hail Palace, as a case study

Saudi Arabia has a wealth of heritage buildings that still exist today. Therefore, the need to preserve the architectural heritage of historical and cultural significance is becoming increasingly relevant. In line with the Saudi vision 2030.Thispaper aims to discuss the current situation of the king Abdul-Aziz palace in Hail, to enhance heritage conservation by sustaining historical buildings. Thus, efforts are continuing to evaluate the conservation to arrive at appropriate strategies. Therefore, the case study was chosen to explain the importance of the existing conservation policies to ensure that the heritage buildings are handled to retain their ingenuity. Keywords: Heritage Conservation, Historic Buildings, Architectural Heritage, Preservation. eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bsby e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, UniversitiTeknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6i16.2716

Does the House Always Win? An Analysis of Barriers to Wealth Building and College Borrowing

The racial differences in student loan debt must be interpreted through a lens of wealth building inequality. Black individuals in particular are negatively affected by official and unofficial policies that create barriers to building wealth. Financial aid policies then exacerbate this inequality with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) formula that protects the majority of family assets from being used as required educational contributions. Using the 2011-12 National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey (NPSAS:12) , we examined differences in student loan debt based on wealth building barriers (students’ access to banks, father’s education, and mother’s education). Our ANOVA models show cumulative loan debt is highest amongst students who experience barriers to wealth building (students who do not have bank accounts, students whose fathers have less than a Bachelor’s degree, and students whose mothers have less than a Bachelor’s degree) (p < .05). In addition, a greater percentage of black students than white experience these wealth building barriers.

The Lowdown on Low-Down-Payment Mortgages: Is It Safe?

Low down payment mortgages were prevalent before the financial crisis, slowed down during the financial crisis, but have reemerged since the financial crisis. The Federal Housing Administration has a history of insuring 3% down payment mortgages to help lower- and middle-income households purchase a home, but Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently have introduced 3% (and lower) down payment programs. In addition, mortgage innovation in the form of the “wealth building mortgage” now adds the possibility of a 100% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. In this paper, we examine the performance of low down payment (or high LTV) lending. We find that low initial down payment mortgages are significantly more likely to become seriously delinquent (90 days or more) than mortgages with traditional down payments of 20% or more. TOPICS:Fixed income and structured finance, MBS and residential mortgage loans, risk management, credit risk management, legal/regulatory/public policy, financial crises and financial market history Key Findings ▪ This study finds meaningfully accurate estimates of the likelihood of more severe delinquency payment status changes by using individual mortgage loan, borrower, and county-level risk factors as explanatory variables. ▪ Low initial down payment mortgages are significantly more likely to become seriously delinquent (90 days or more) than mortgages with traditional downpayments of 20% or more. ▪ Initial borrower and mortgage characteristics, such as LTV, borrower documentation, or FICO score, are dominant factors in the likelihood of delinquency and default.

Local regeneration and community wealth building–place making: co-operatives as agents of change

Purpose This paper aims to provide an introduction to how worker co-operatives and other organisations based on principles of the participatory economy have been adopted in a range of international contexts as a vehicle for transforming places with a strong aspiration to address location-specific social challenges. Design/methodology/approach Through a presentation of four narrative cases, the paper exemplifies international experiences of co-operative approaches to place-making. It critically reflects on the philosophical and strategic underpinnings of the projects implemented in Rochdale, Preston, Bologna, Rome and Cincinnati. Findings The practical experiences of a number of local projects of place-making involving co-operatives are conceptualised. The research has identified the importance of institutional, organisational and legal constraints for transformative cooperative-based place-making initiatives. It shows a strong relevance of the place’s historic legacy and communal governance for the choice of place-making approaches. Research limitations/implications Further investigation is needed to establish whether co-operatives have the same driving force potential in terms of local regeneration and community wealth building place-making in non-Western contexts and less developed locations. Practical implications The paper highlights cases that incorporate place-making practices involving the co-operative organisation and municipal participation and considers their transferability potential. Originality/value The paper advances an important conversation relevant to researchers, educators, co-operators, politicians and local officials on diverse contemporary approaches in towns and cities that seek to reshape and regenerate local socio-economic fabric by engaging tradition, principles and organisation models developed within the co-operative movement.

Achieving drought resilience in the grazing lands of northern Australia: preparing, responding and recovering

Northern Australia is characterised by high rainfall variability and extended droughts that challenge sustainable and profitable management of grazing properties. To achieve drought resilience, emphasis must be placed on supporting livestock managers to prepare for drought as well as implementing appropriate drought response and recovery actions. Here we describe insights and learnings gained from working with scientists, industry development and extension officers, and property managers, to enable more profitable and drought resilient extensive livestock production systems across northern Australia. We provide examples from the modelling and analysis of hypothetical grazing properties representative of enterprises across northern Australia. To prepare for drought, we principally propose the application of the farm-management economics framework to identify investment strategies which can improve enterprise resilience through building wealth over the longer term. The critical first step in drought preparedness for beef businesses was the implementation of management strategies to achieve the optimal herd structure, steer sale age, and breeder body condition. Other key strategies to improve profitability across northern Australia were (1) addressing a phosphorus deficiency for cattle through effective supplementation and (2) establishing adapted perennial legume-grass pastures to improve steer nutrition. In addition, we identify the benefits of working closely with livestock managers and industry to gain adoption of proven technologies that effectively improve decision-making capacity and the drought preparedness of extensive livestock production systems. The usefulness of the farm-management economics approach to assess the relative value of alternative tactical destocking and restocking decisions during drought response and recovery is also discussed. These latter analyses can highlight important differences between options in terms of future profit and cash flow, as well as the ability to rapidly return the property to the most profitable herd structure and age of turnoff, with consideration of production and financial risk. Additionally, integrating pasture growth models with herd or flock economic models can provide insights into the effects, on profitability and sustainability, of alternative destocking and later restocking strategies over the longer term. Combined, the farm-management economics framework approach can support more informed decision-making by livestock producers and hence enable more profitable and drought resilient extensive livestock production systems. However, achieving drought resilience in the grazing lands of northern Australia will require emphasis on drought preparation, in addition to appropriate action in response and recovery phases of drought. Key to this approach is increasing the adoption of strategies that enhance drought preparedness.

How Trauma-Informed Programming to Treat Social Determinants Unveils Challenges to Systems Alignment.

Cross-sector collaboration and systems alignment to promote a culture of health can address social determinants of health (SDH), improve family well-being, and create a more equitable society. This paper documents our attempt to align Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Medicaid to promote health through a trauma-informed program, The Building Wealth and Health Network (The Network). The Network successfully integrated into traditional TANF and addresses SDH through peer-group programming where caregivers heal from adversity and build financial skills. We identify three challenges to alignment of TANF and Medicaid: 1) TANF's culture of compliance, 2) societal and systems-level forces including racism and discrimination, 3) misaligned partnerships (values, priorities, structure, and capability). For each challenge, we propose solutions including incentives for innovation and partnership, and promotion of racial equity initiatives, including reparations. By highlighting challenges and solutions we seek to strengthen current approaches to achieve health equity through systems alignment.

The Mortgage Piggy Bank: Building Wealth Through Amortization

Mortgage amortization schedules are illiquid savings plans comparable in size to pension programs; however, little is known about their effects on wealth accumulation. Using individual administrative data and plausibly exogenous variation in the timing of home purchase (ex. childbirth-driven) around a 2013 Dutch reform, we find a near one-for-one rise in net worth for each dollar of amortization. Households leave other savings and liabilities unchanged, and instead increase labor supply and reduce consumption. Effects hold even for regular savers and older households. This has important macroprudential implications and suggests homeownership financed via amortizing mortgages is instrumental for household wealth building.

Vernacular Buildings: a Source for Historical Study

The historic county of Yorkshire has a wealth of vernacular buildings, studied for over a century. The focus of study and the means by which it has been carried out have changed over this period and the opportunity exists to review this history and indicate how the subject might develop in the next years, particularly in relation to the fuller exploitation of existing records and the way in which future research might be structured. The use of architectural evidence for the examination of changing types of house is well established, but less well recognised is its potential to not only illustrate wider historical trends but also to modify, refine or counter conclusions drawn from other sources.

The Layman’s Guide to Passive Investing

Passive investing is a long-term method of investing that utilizes the time value of money and compounding interest. Passive investing allows the investor to compete with professional investors without active trading. Once the index fund is activated, the investor can walk away without having to manage it on a day-to-day basis. The risk of an index fund is practically eliminated by spreading the investment across a basket of instruments that allows the investor to minimize diversifiable risk. According to Kathryn Vasel of CNN Money (Vasel, 2020: CNN.com), only 39% of Americans could raise $1000 in an emergency. Think about that! Only 4 in 10 working Americans could come up with $1000 in an emergency. Could you raise $1000 right now if you needed to? The secret to passive investing is “Little and often fills the purse!” Left to one’s own management, a savings account will soon go dry. The secret to building wealth over time requires innovative tactics such as removing the responsibility of managing your money and automating it for free. In 1981, Herbert Whitehouse introduced the concept of the 401k plan as a way to subsidize pension plans. He later lamented introducing such an investment because instead of subsidizing a pension plan it replaced it. Today, pension plans are being eliminated as businesses face global competition and are forced to cut costs. Another problem with 401k plans is that many workers fail to transfer them to their new employment. For example, in 2019, the U.S. saw the greatest jobs turnover rate ever according to CNBC (Hess, 2020). Sixty-three million Americans quit their jobs because they found better jobs. Unfortunately, the majority of them decided to cash in their 401k’s instead of rolling them over to their new job. If you are fortunate enough to have a pension plan and a 401k, you should consider augmenting your retirement cash flows by starting a passive fund that is free to manage. By the time you retire, you should have enough cash to sustain your present standard of living.

Climbing Mt. Debt

Student loans do not have to be a barrier to building wealth. All too frequently, recent graduate veterinarians are paying more than their income requires towards their student loans, sacrificing other areas of financial health in order to do so. Financial resources are limited and timing is important when it comes to financial wellness and building wealth. The earlier you can start, the better your long-term self will be. Allocating your income wisely after graduating from veterinary school can help you jump-start your financial plan and build wealth long-term while reducing the stress around student loan repayment.