New Book: “Owning Up”

Posted by on December 13, 2002

“Owning Up: Poverty, Assets, and the American Dream,” by Michelle Miller-Adams, is about assets and the difference they can make in the lives of the poor. Assets are defined broadly to include not only economic resources, but also the human and social capital that can bring about upward mobility. The book examines the work of five leading asset-building organizations involved in home ownership, community redevelopment, job training, microenterprise development, and saving through Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). Rich in detail and narratively compelling, “Owning Up” chronicles the achievements of these organizations through the stories of the individuals and communities they serve. The book is published by the Brookings Institution Press and is based on research funded by the Ford Foundation.

A chapter of “Owning Up” can be read for free on line through the Brookings Institution Press web site at .

2002 – 224 pages
paperback $18.95

Michelle Miller-Adams is a visiting assistant professor at Kalamazoo College and an adjunct professor at Western Michigan University. She is the author of “The World Bank: New Agendas in a Changing World” (Routledge, 1999) and is a contributor to several edited volumes. She is also a former vice president for programs at the Twentieth Century Fund (now the Century Foundation).