The Economic Security Index shows that economic insecurity disproportionately affects the less advantaged, but has risen substantially for all Americans.
The discussion of economic security has been hampered by the lack of a simple measure that allows for the comparison of economic security over time and across Americans of different circumstances.
The ESI fills this gap. It provides a simple measure of the joint occurrence of three major risks to economic well-being:
Experiencing a major loss in income
Incurring large out-of-pocket medical expenses, and
Lacking adequate financial wealth to buffer the first two risks
Uniquely, the ESI tracks all these elements — major income loss, uncovered medical expense, and inadequate assets — within a single measure.
Brief explanation of the ESI and its purpose, by Jacob Hacker, member of the ESI Research Team.
