Dr. Stephen Roll's research focuses on promoting asset building, debt management, and economic security in lower-income populations. Working within the Social Policy Institute, where he is the Associate Director of Research, he is involved in research on child savings, food insecurity, and the role of financial technology services in promoting financial well-being. 

His most recent work focuses on the role of cash transfer programs in improving household balance sheets and economic mobility outcomes, which includes studies of the Expanded Child Tax Credit and two Guaranteed Income experiments in Georgia.

His work has been featured in numerous media outlets including The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Washington Post, and the New York Times, and he has briefed the White House Domestic Policy Council, the Senate Joint Economic Committee, and the United States Supreme Court on the results of his research.