The economic security research program is one of five interrelated programs that form the pillars of scholarship at the UNC School of Social Work.
Economic resources are necessary to meet basic needs. Without reliable access to resources, individuals face myriad health and behavioral health risks that can reduce their ability to provide for themselves and for those who rely on them.
Developing and evaluating policies and programs that promote economic security — such as asset-building initiatives and financial education — can improve individuals’ immediate circumstances while strengthening their earning power and savings behaviors in ways that build human capital.
Recognizing the economic challenges facing individuals and communities is imperative to understanding the difficulties they often face. Economic security plays a key factor in many of those challenges.
Whether by connecting individuals and families to community resources that provide direct assistance, or by supporting policy decisions that ensure economic stability for all communities, research plays a key role in advancing economic security. Our faculty work across the state and globally to identify and develop economic supports and connect high-need communities with these resources.
