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Economic Inclusion and Climate Equity

June 2017

By Vanessa Carter, Chris Benner, Gabriela Giusta, Gordon McGranahan, Manuel Pastor

Please note: reports dated earlier than June 2020 were published under our previous names: the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) or the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII).

Banking, Change, and Power tells the story of U.S. financial services through a lens of equity, power, and innovation. It begins by tracing the history of financial policy changes in the US—both equitable and not. On the side of equity there are developments like the Community Reinvestment Act, Community Development Financial Institutions, New Market Tax Credits, and more; on the side of inequity there is thrift banking, deregulation, the weakening of the CRA, and more.

This is the story of a power struggle: Gains for equity are made when everyday people are organized and hold business and government accountable—and gains are lost when the financial industry goes unchecked. To forge a sustainable and equitable financial services market in the US that can tame current excesses will require rebuilding a movement for financial equity centered on frontline, Black and Brown, lower-income communities. The report closes with a discussion of metrics.

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Banking, Change, and Power

Read our other publications by research area

    Immigrant Integration & Racial Justice

    Our work on immigrant integration and racial justice brings together three emphases: scholarship that draws on academic theory and rigorous research, data that provides information structured to highlight the process of immigrant integration over time, and engagement that seeks to create new dialogues with government, community organizers, business and civic leaders, immigrants and the voting public to advance immigrant integration and racial equity.

    Economic Inclusion & Climate Equity

    In the area of economic inclusion, we at ERI advance academic theory and practical applications linking economic growth, environmental quality, and civic health with bridging of racial and other gaps; produce accessible and actionable data and analysis through the data tools; and establish research partnerships to deepen and advance the dialogue, planning, and actions around racial equity, environmental justice, and the built environment.

    Social Movements & Governing Power

    ERI’s work in the area of governing power includes: conducting cross-disciplinary studies of today’s social movements, supporting learning and strategizing efforts to advance dialogues among organizers, funders, intermediaries, evaluators, and academics, and developing research-based social change frameworks and tools to inform—and be informed by—real-world, real-time efforts towards a vision of deep change.

    Publications Directory

    In 2020, the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) and the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII) merged to form the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI).

    The full list of publications published under our previous and current names can be found in our publications directory.

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