Margaret Sherraden

Margaret Sherraden

CSD Research Professor; Washington University in St. Louis​
Financial Capability: Combining Access and Abilities,
Civic Service and Engagement

Margaret Sherraden, PhD, is a leader in financial capability and asset building. She has published seven books and numerous articles on advancing economic well-being. She led one of the 12 Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative papers on Financial Capability and Asset Building for All (FCAB), and is a co-lead of the FCAB network. Sherraden recently completed a book for social workers and other human service students on building financial capability and asset building in low-income households. Her prior research includes studies of international volunteering and service, microenterprise, and birth outcomes among immigrant women of Mexican descent.

In addition, Sherraden is an emeritus professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, where she most recently served as a Founder’s Professor of Social Work. She taught for 25 years in the UMSL School of Social Work, where she also chaired the master’s program in social work. She is a former Fulbright Fellow and two-term president of the Missouri Association for Social Welfare. She serves on the St. Louis Federal Reserve’s Community Development Advisory Council.

Faculty profile


CSD Projects

Community Health Impacts of International Service in Uganda

Community Health Impacts of International Service in Uganda

Community and National Service

We designed a randomized clinical trial measuring the impacts of volunteer-based health trainings on behavior in central Uganda.

Financial Capability & Human Services Education

Financial Capability & Human Services Education

Financial Capability

We address the gap in professional FCAB training of social workers and other human service practitioners who serve low- and moderate-income households.

YouthSave

YouthSave

Global Asset Building

This initiative in Colombia, Ghana, Kenya and Nepal was to understand conditions for delivery of savings products and services to improve the lives of low-income youth.

Emerging Perspectives on International Volunteerism in Asia

Emerging Perspectives on International Volunteerism in Asia

International Service

Our project examines challenges and emerging perspectives in international volunteerism in Asia through an online survey and in-country interviews.

Impacts of International Service on European Volunteers and Host Communities in Africa

Impacts of International Service on European Volunteers and Host Communities in Africa

International Service

Our partnership with Volunteer Organization and Service Enquiry Southern Africa examines the impact of international service in South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania. 

Financial Capability & Asset Building​ (FCAB)

Financial Capability & Asset Building​ (FCAB)

Asset Building

We are building a body of evidence in financial capability, defined as both the knowledge to make optimal financial decisions and access to appropriate and beneficial financial services. 

North American Community Service (NACS)

North American Community Service (NACS)

International service

We evaluated a pilot project in transnational youth service and its impacts involving Mexican, Canadian, and U.S. youth.