2010 – Publication Years

Financial Capability in the United States: Consumer Decision-Making and the Role of Social Security

June 14, 2018
Behavioral economics, Social Security

Borrowing from Yourself: The Determinants of 401(k) Loan Patterns

June 14, 2018
retirement savings

Financial Capability in the United States: Consumer Decision-Making and the Role of Social Security

June 14, 2018
Behavioral economics, Social Security

This paper analyzes new data from the 2009 National Financial Capability Study. This survey provides information to assess how American households make financial decisions, how they are faring under current economic conditions, and in what ways financial knowledge contributes to…

Mortgage Contract Decisions and Mortgage Distress: Family and Financial Life-Cycle Factors

June 14, 2018
Family dynamics, Financial well-being, Life-cycle model

The U.S. economy experienced a dramatic rise in the price of owner occupied housing during 1999-2007, and then a precipitous decline from 2007 through 2009. In this paper we utilize data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) during…

Health and Wealth in a Life-Cycle Model

June 14, 2018
Health, Life-cycle model, Medicare, Mortality trends

Health and Wealth in a Life-Cycle Model

June 14, 2018
Health, Life-cycle model, Medicare, Mortality trends

This paper presents a preliminary model of health investments over the life cycle. Health affects both longevity and provides flow utility. We analyze the interplay between consumption choices and investments in health by solving each household’s dynamic optimization problem to…

Financial Knowledge and Financial Literacy at the Household Level

June 14, 2018
Health and Retirement Study, pensions, Social Security

Personality, Lifetime Earnings, and Retirement Wealth

June 14, 2018
Uncategorized

Borrowing from Yourself: The Determinants of 401(k) Loan Patterns

June 14, 2018
retirement savings

This paper explores the determinants of people’s decisions to take 401(k) loans. We argue that 401(k) plans do not simply represent retirement saving, but they also provide a means of saving for precautionary purposes. We model factors that rationally would…

Financial Knowledge and Financial Literacy at the Household Level

June 14, 2018
Health and Retirement Study, pensions, Social Security

This paper uses data from the Health and Retirement Study to explore the mechanism that underlies the robust relation found in the literature between cognitive ability, and in particular numeracy, and wealth, income constant. We have a number of findings.…