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You are here: Home / Newsroom / Newsletters / Family Economics News - October 2007

Family Economics News - October 2007

The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) works with land-grant university partners and others to advance knowledge for agriculture, the environment, human health and well-being, and communities through national program leadership and Federal assistance. Among the Agency’s goals is to support increased economic opportunities and quality of life in rural areas. Family economics aligns with this goal by focusing on how individuals and families obtain and use resources such as money, time, human capital, material resources, and community services; by exploring the relationship between individuals and families and the larger economy; and by studying the impact of public issues, policies, and programs on family economic well-being.

Research/Program Evaluation

  • User Group: Consumer Expenditure Datasets
  • The Subprime Market: Wealth Building or Wealth Stripping?
    (AARP Public Policy Institute)

Education/Extension

  • New on eXtension  
  • Federal Reserve White Paper

Resources

  • Journal of Consumer Affairs  
  • Consumers Facing Foreclosure    
  • Annie E. Casey Foundation: Kids Count Data Book
  • Economic Research Service (ERS) Fact Sheets

Opportunities

  • Call for Papers:
    • Journal of Consumer Affairs  
    • Journal of Personal Finance
    • Financial Counseling and Planning
    • The Journal of Youth Development: Bridging Research and Practice
    • The Eastern Family Economics and Resource Management Association Conference
    • CYFAR 2008 Conference
    • Research Conference: Identifying and Resolving Financial Crises
  • Funding:
    • Grants.gov
    • FINRA Investor Education Foundation
    • National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®) 
    • MMI Education Foundation
    • Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
    • National Research Initiative (NRI) Request for Applications
    • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
    • Foundation for Financial Literacy

Calendar

Mailbox

Sherman Hanna, of Ohio State University, has set up a Users Group Web page for people interested in research using the Consumer Expenditure datasets. The page includes a link to a Yahoo group, and those who sign up for the Yahoo group will receive a newsletter with topics related to Consumer Expenditure (CE) research and applications. Yahoo group members may also post questions and make announcements. Many of the people who signed up attended the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)-sponsored CE datasets workshop in July. BLS conducts two surveys of U.S. consumer expenditures; ­ the quarterly Interview Survey and the Diary Survey­. These surveys provide information on the buying habits of American consumers, including data on their expenditures, income, and consumer unit (families and single consumers) characteristics. In addition to helping calibrate the Consumer Price Index, these datasets have been used by numerous research publications related to spending, credit, saving, insurance, and other personal finance issues, as well as research with public policy implications related to taxes, retirement, and welfare. 

While the "democratization of credit" has led to record numbers of Americans reaching the American dream of homeownership, there is growing evidence that many borrowers are now being sold products that strip, not build, home equity and household wealth. Innovative products with complicated and variable terms, once marketed to the "sophisticated borrower," are now marketed to a less affluent borrower for their "affordability." This report by the AARP Public Policy Institute discusses ethnic background lending disparities, predatory loan practices, and increasing foreclosure rates.

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eXtension, pronounced ee-extension, is an interactive learning environment delivering the best, most researched knowledge to the public from land-grant university professionals across America. eXtension now has a new site especially for extension educators and other professionals. It's a space where university content providers can gather and produce new educational and information resources on wide-ranging topics. One of the topics, Personal Finance, offers information on consumer credit, estate planning, home ownership, retirement planning, and more. The newest partner linking to eXtension's Personal Finance site is America Saves. America Saves is a nationwide campaign in which a broad coalition of nonprofit, corporate, and government groups helps individuals and families save and build wealth by paying down debt, building an emergency fund, saving for a house, or saving for an education or retirement. The America Saves Web site has a homepage link to the eXtension learning environment, where personal finance questions are directed to an expert from Cooperative Extension.

Oklahoma State University faculty, Family Economist Glenn Muske, and Agricultural Economist Mike Woods have teamed with Steve Shepelwich, of Kansas City's Federal Reserve Bank, to write the white paper The Federal Reserve System and the Cooperative Extension Service: Partnerships to Enhance Community Building posted on the Financial Security Program Page under partnerships. The Federal Reserve System and the Cooperative Extension Service have unique positions and roles, yet similarities exist as do opportunities for joint efforts that capitalize on the strengths of each group. This white paper outlines the history, structure, mission, and current activities of the respective organizations, and encourages joint projects. The white paper provides Federal Reserve contact information by region.

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The Journal of Consumer Affairs features analysis of individual, business, and/or government decisions and actions that can affect the interests of consumers in the marketplace. Research topics that can be addressed from the consumer's point of view include communications, consumer education, economics, finance, law, nutrition, public policy, psychology, and marketing. The Winter 2007 Issue of The Journal contains several reviews and articles regarding personal and consumer finance.

The Federal Reserve Board has pulled together a number of links for consumers facing foreclosure. These links are under the Personal Financial Education category of their Web site, and include federal and organizational resources. The Federal Reserve System, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Housing Administration, and the Federal Trade Commission provide assistance regarding foreclosure. Other organizations offering resources for customers having difficulty making their mortgage payments include AARP, FreddieMac, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, and the National Foundation for Debt Management.

Founded in 1948, the primary mission of the Annie E. Casey Foundation is to foster public policies, human-service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today's vulnerable children and families. The Foundation makes grants that help states, cities, and neighborhoods fashion more innovative, cost-effective responses to these needs. The data from the Foundation's 2007 KIDS COUNT Data Book is available. The KIDS COUNT Data Book contains more than 75 measures of child well-being, including the 10 measures used in the annual KIDS COUNT Data Book. It includes the most timely data available on education, employment and income, poverty, health, basic demographics, and youth risk factors for the United States , all 50 states, and the District of Columbia . Depending on availability, 3 to 5 years of trend data is available for most indicators. This easy-to-use, powerful online database allows you to generate custom reports for a geographic area (Profiles) or to compare geographic areas on a topic (Ranking, Maps, and Line Graphs).

The ERS State Fact Sheets contain frequently requested data for each state and for the total United States. These include current data on population, per-capita income, earnings per job, poverty rates, employment, unemployment, farm and farm-related jobs, farm characteristics, farm financial characteristics, top agricultural commodities, top export commodities, and the top counties in agricultural sales. Fact sheets are available on the ERS Web site.

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  • Grants.gov is your source to find and apply for federal government grants. There are over 1,000 grant programs offered by all Federal grant making agencies.

  • FINRA Investor Education Foundation Grant Programs - The 2008 grant opportunities will be announced in December 2007. Subscribe to the e-mail newsletter for periodic updates.

  • National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE®) - The NEFE® Grants program has two grant cycles in April and October. The next deadline for grant proposals is June 5, 2007, for the October grant cycle. To learn more about the NEFE® Grants program visit the NEFE® Web site, and click on the Grantsmaking section.

  • MMI Education Foundation - The foundation uses its resources to serve the public interest and strengthen the communities where we live and work. The foundation provides periodic announcements and grant guidelines.

  • Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Grant Programs for 2007. The submission date for grant applications is December 5, 2007.

  • NRI Request for Applications - Social Science and Integrated Grant Opportunities for 2008. Go to page 5 on the NRI Request for Applications.

  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Grantees provide financial literacy training to enable low-income individuals and families to achieve economic self-sufficiency.

  • Foundation for Financial Literacy - The Foundation for Personal Literacy supports educational, charitable, and other organizations that use financial education to teach individuals how to convert earned income into passive and portfolio income.

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  • CSREES Contact: Jane Schuchardt, National Program Leader, CSREES-USDA

  • eXtension (pronounced ee-eXtension) Financial Security for All provides reliable, research-based, and up-to-date financial and consumer information, including learning modules, fact sheets, and unbiased peer-reviewed answers to frequently asked questions. Consumers can access eXtension 24/7/365 on any Internet-ready device.
    Contact: Debra Pankow, family economics specialist, North Dakota State University, or go to eXtension.org and click on Personal Finance.

  • National Initiative "Financial Security in Later Life" Contact: Nancy M. Porter, Family Resource Management Specialist, Clemson University

  • Financial Literacy for Youth Contact: Erica Tobe, Program Leader for Financial Literacy & Housing, Michigan State University


Back issues of Family Economics News are available.

To submit items for consideration for this newsletter, contact Jim Terry, Program Analyst, CSREES-USDA.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on t09/28/2007, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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Last Updated: 09/28/2007