← Research POLICY REPORT · 2023

Liquid Assets, Financial Shocks, and Entrances into Material Hardship

Matthew Maury, Sophie Collyer, Ben Glasner, Yajun Jia, Christopher Wimer, Christopher Yera

Poverty Tracker (Robin Hood)

Abstract

Using Poverty Tracker survey data on New York City households, this report examines whether liquid financial assets protect working-age adults from falling into material hardship after a financial shock such as a job loss, income drop, or loss of benefits. Working-age New Yorkers who experience a shock are more than twice as likely to enter hardship as those who do not, and those who lose a job or benefits are more than three times as likely. The risk of entering hardship after a shock falls sharply as liquid assets rise to $2,000, after which the protective effect levels off.

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BibTeX

@techreport{maury_jia_yera_glasner_2023_liquid_assets,
  title = {Liquid Assets, Financial Shocks, and Entrances into Material Hardship},
  author = {Maury, Matthew and Collyer, Sophie and Glasner, Ben and Jia, Yajun and Wimer, Christopher and Yera, Christopher},
  journal = {Poverty Tracker (Robin Hood)},
  institution = {Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University (Robin Hood Poverty Tracker Spotlight)},
  year = {2023},
  month = aug,
}