Caitlin Zaloom

Zaloom will examine how U.S. middle-class families organize their financial lives across generations, from early adulthood through retirement. Using ethnographic interviews and historical research, Zaloom will analyze how families use debt, savings, insurance, and long-term planning in ways that reshape their relationships and obligations. She will work on a book manuscript arguing that financial institutions and public policies depend on intergenerational support while placing moral and behavioral pressures on the families that rely on them.