In a new report, researchers at the New School's Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy examine how public banking, established with clear mandates prioritizing community needs, can advance societal and individual well-being. The authors emphasize key considerations for realizing the full potential of public banks and cautions to avoid repeating past harms rooted in private banking practices.
Dēmos and New Economy Project used a mixed-methods approach, including interviews with key advocates, activists, and academics in the public banking movement, to explore the critical provisions for public banks to build community wealth and reduce the racial wealth divide. At a time when public banking is gaining momentum across the United States, this research equips advocates and policymakers with a roadmap for establishing public banks intentionally designed to advance racial equity and democratic representation.
This study analyzes a two-year guaranteed income pilot program for women with low incomes in Georgia’s historically disinvested communities. Findings show participants in the first year of the program used the direct cash assistance to address immediate financial crises, and once stable, they used the assistance to make steps toward long-term financial investments such as education and employment.
A new report by Terri Friedline, Ameya Pawar, and Sarah Treuhaft from The New School explores how public banking can serve as the infrastructure for guaranteed income programs. The authors outline how public banks, when designed with equity-centered mandates, can offer low-cost, secure, and efficient disbursement systems, and they argue that intentionally linking public banking to guaranteed income could help reduce poverty, close wealth gaps, and deliver on economic justice goals.
Community corner
In a new episode of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Voices of Vision, Darrick Hamilton, founding director of the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School, discusses how we define wealth, what it provides, and how inclusive economies are essential to building healthier lives and communities.
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