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The deep application of digital finance may change residents' risk preference, which poses new challenges for maintaining the stability of the financial system. However, the empirical evidence is still in its infancy. Taking China households as research samples, we use Oprobit and IV regression models, and the results confirm that digital finance has significantly improved residents' risk preference statistically. We explore the underlying mechanism and find that digital finance can improve risk preference by accumulating household wealth, financial literacy and social interaction. Our conclusion provides reference for preventing risk accumulation brought by fintech and maintaining financial stability in the digital era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the interest of individuals for transparency regarding how their savings are invested. Using a sample of 1,075 questionnaires from a panel of French individuals who participate in the financial decisions of their households, we investigate whether these individuals care about the sector allocation and the carbon footprint of their savings. Our results show that green consumption values are the main driver of interest for transparency. Furthermore, by analyzing the willingness of individuals to pay for transparency, we show the reluctance of individuals who exhibit green values to pay for this kind of information. In addition, our results show that individuals with pecuniary motives for sustainable investments also attach great importance to transparency. From a general standpoint, our findings contribute to analyzing the barriers that may hinder the mobilization of household savings for funding the green transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of credit card usage on well-being depend on factors determining its usage, repayment habits, and responsible utilization. Although international literature extensively covers credit card usage, a notable gap exists in Canadian research, where no comprehensive analysis of credit card debt with a representative Canadian sample has been conducted over an extended period. This study utilizes Statistics Canada’s Survey of Financial Security to investigate the determinants of the incidence, intensity, and extent of credit card usage between 1999 and 2019. Education, income, and assets are identified as significant determinants, with their impact evolving over time. Most Canadian households hold one or two credit cards, while family budgeting, financial expectations, stock market investment, and bank savings are significantly associated with usage intensity. Regional disparities exist, with certain provinces exhibiting higher credit card usage. Average credit card debt doubled between 1999 and 2019. Findings emphasize the need for comprehensive policy measures to promote responsible credit card usage, addressing income, gender, and regional disparities while prioritizing financial literacy, debt management resources, and strengthening credit card industry regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a randomized experiment in auto lending, we find that algorithmic underwriting outperforms the human underwriting process, resulting in 10.2% higher loan profits and 6.8% lower default rates. The human and machine underwriters show similar performance for low-risk, less complex loans. However, the performance of human underwritten loans largely declines for riskier and more complex loans, whereas the machine performance stays relatively stable across various risk dimensions and loan characteristics. The performance difference is more pronounced at underwriting thresholds with a high potential for agency conflict. These results are consistent with algorithmic underwriting mitigating agency conflicts and humans' limited capacity for analyzing complex problems. This paper was accepted by Will Cong, finance. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2024.4986. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant negative relationship exists between the price of retail motor gasoline and the interest rate on mortgage loans. Prospective homeowners avoid purchasing a mortgage‐financed home in areas where gasoline prices are rising to avoid endangering their future mortgage payments due to the greater cost of motor fuel consumption. The passage of government regulations and incentives aimed at increasing either the demand for or supply of alternative fuels, lowering the cost for gasoline customers to switch to alternative fuels, lessens the negative impact of gasoline prices on the cost of mortgage credit. Public transit mitigates the negative gasoline price impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We estimate the effect of job loss on households' bank account ownership using novel data: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)‐sponsored biennial supplements to the Current Population Survey (CPS), linked to respondents' work history in surrounding months constructed from the Basic Monthly CPS. Leveraging differences in the timing of unemployment spells across households, we show that job loss leads to a large decrease in the likelihood of having an account among the lower‐income, renter households we study. Job loss also leads to increased use of other products and services that might substitute for a bank account, including prepaid cards, check cashing, and money orders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractFinancial literacy is an indispensable factor in household asset allocation, but market-oriented reforms are also an external factor that cannot be ignored. Using data from the 2013 and 2019 China Household Financial Survey (CHFS), this paper investigates whether the individual’s ability or the market system hinders rural households’ participation and asset investment in the financial market. Findings reveal that both marketization and financial literacy positively affect residents’ financial activities, but the roles of the two are not the same. Financial literacy is an essential factor in increasing participation in the financial market. Moreover, marketization and financial literacy significantly affect rural financial asset allocation decisions in four ways: changing risk preference, using the Internet, alleviating liquid constraints and increasing education expenditure on offspring. Besides, households’ financial behaviors exhibit a stronger correlation with improved network infrastructure, robust legal frameworks, favorable business credit environments, higher social media penetration, and enhanced human capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decrease in companies going public has received widespread attention, and the associated costs are widely debated. We document that high local initial public offering (IPO) activity leads to increases in stock market participation of 5–6 percent. This is striking, given that such participation represents a key factor toward building wealth. Local IPOs increase both households' propensity to own stock and their percent equity holdings. The attention channel drives effects: local IPOs attract attention to the market, through increased information production and publicity. The wealth channel has little influence, consistent with local IPOs not generating wealth shocks for most households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how the health-determined bargaining power affects the joint portfolio decision-making of retired households. Data demonstrate a decline in the risky share of married households after retirement, whereas the risky share of single households remains relatively stable. Meantime, wives tend to be younger, healthier, and more risk-averse than husbands. This suggests a potential correlation between health-determined bargaining power dynamics and the household's portfolio allocation in retirement: as people age, health factors play a more crucial role in determining bargaining power. Consequently, the wife's bargaining power strengthens, leading the household's collective portfolio decisions to increasingly reflect her preferences. This dynamic underscores the importance of considering health factors in understanding how joint portfolio decisions are made in retirement. It highlights the potential role of intrahousehold bargaining power in shaping financial outcomes. Realizing this knowledge, policymakers can enhance their ability to better support households' financial planning and choices during retirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a context where individuals are increasingly more sensitive to corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and where mobilization of savings for the energy transition is essential, our article is the first to study the drivers of online green bank adoption. By analyzing 1075 questionnaires from a panel of French individuals in charge of financial decisions in their households, we show that altruism and green consumption values are significant drivers of individuals' green banking adoption and reveal that willingness to adopt a green bank is mediated by the preference for green savings. These results extend the nascent literature dealing with the link between responsible consumption and saving behaviors. Briefly speaking, green banks (and associated savings products) have the potential to enable households to express their consumption values through their investments. That said, our results suggest that households' financial well‐being and financial literacy can be barriers to the mobilization of green savings. Our results also demonstrate the significant influence of information system variables, such as personal innovativeness and trust, on willingness to adopt green banking. By shedding light on the drivers of individuals' green bank adoption, our results provide valuable insights for the banking industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The behavioral literature suggests that minor frictions can elicit desirable behavior without obvious coercion. Using closures of ATMs in a densely populated city as an instrument for small frictions to physical banking access, we find that customers affected by ATM closures increase their usage of the bank's digital platform. Other spillover effects of this adoption of financial technology include increases in point-of-sale transactions, electronic funds transfers, automatic bill payments and savings, and a reduction in cash usage. Our results show that minor frictions can help overcome the status quo bias and facilitate significant behavior change. This paper was accepted by David Sraer, finance. Supplemental Material: Data and the online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4972. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Household financial decision-making is a complex process influenced by various factors, including personality traits. This study examines the impact of personality traits on household finance across 31 European countries, utilizing the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) dataset from Eurostat. We employ logistic regression analysis to investigate the relationship between personality traits and three key dimensions of household finance: the likelihood of holding secured debts, the probability of experiencing financial distress, and the state of financial well-being. Our findings reveal that high levels of neuroticism and extraversion are linked to a greater likelihood of financial distress, whereas low levels of these traits are associated with a higher probability of holding a mortgage. This study highlights the significance of incorporating personality traits into the analysis of household financial decision-making and provides valuable insights into the determinants of household finance in Europe.

Financial savings at the household level are vital for poverty alleviation, yet they face social, psychological and institutional obstacles. Over recent years, mobile phones have proven effective in enhancing financial inclusion. However, when individuals decide how to save, their preferences remain unclear. This study investigates the preferences of 421 Malian smallholder farmers for a hypothetical mobile savings application using a discrete choice experiment. Apart from standard savings account features such as transaction charges, interest amount and minimum deposit requirements, it assesses preferences for two innovative features designed to address deviations from rational decision‐making. The first feature allows multiple users to pool their savings, utilising social dynamics and peer pressure to encourage responsible savings behaviour and enhance commitment. The second feature offers users the ability to manage their finances more effectively by dividing them into purpose‐specific sub‐accounts. The findings reveal a strong overall preference for saving via the application rather than keeping cash on hand. As anticipated, farmers favour lower costs and deposits and higher interest amounts. Generally, individual saving is preferred over group saving, and the option to compartmentalise is valued, albeit not statistically significantly so. However, the analysis of underlying heterogeneity reveals substantial differences in respondents' preferences for these commitment‐enhancing features. These findings underscore the need for customised approaches that align with farmers' unique preferences and constraints. Such approaches can inform the development of bespoke mobile savings solutions for farming households, thereby boosting their resilience and financial well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumer protection in the financial market has several dimensions. From a formal point of view, consumer rights are guaranteed by law. Educational programs are implemented in schools and the media to promote knowledge and responsible use of financial products and services. Despite the efforts made, the number of incorrect and suboptimal financial decisions is so high that the risk of households falling into excessive debt remains significant. The limited effectiveness of the law led to the claim that only effective education can reduce the risk of suboptimal financial decisions. Unfortunately, the efforts made in this area are not fully satisfactory. The study of financial knowledge of consumers, which was conducted in Poland in January 2024, aimed to verify consumer errors and their nature. As part of the consumer study, not only declared knowledge was verified, but also actual knowledge. The researchers' doubts resulted from a comparison of the results of scientific research in this area with the current market situation. Consumers declare a high level of knowledge of economic and financial concepts. In practice, however, they make mistakes that do not only indicate behavioral cognitive errors but also a lack of knowledge. The test questions were constructed in such a way as to verify the declared knowledge (based on verification questions). These showed that the actual level of knowledge was lower than the declared one. A review of the literature and studies of financial knowledge and financial competence of consumers in Central European countries was also carried out. Analysis of the results allowed for the formulation of conclusions regarding the educational gap in relation to social characteristics. The conclusions resulting from the study raise questions about the effectiveness of the educational methods used and indicate possible directions of changes in the consumer regulation policy, the aim of which is to ensure a high level of consumer protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the uncertainty in households' expectations regarding macroeconomic outcomes, namely inflation and the rate of nationwide home price growth. We document that people extrapolate from the instability of their personal and local environment when assessing the future volatility of these macroeconomic variables. Consequently, there are within-person spillovers in subjective uncertainty regarding different economic outcomes. This extrapolative behavior is more pronounced among lower-numeracy individuals, and it persists throughout the business cycle. People with more uncertain macroeconomic expectations are more likely to engage in precautionary behaviors regarding consumption and equity market exposure and are more concerned about credit market access. This paper was accepted by David Simchi-Levi, finance. Supplemental Material: The data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.00820. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted two studies investigating how financial well-being was affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Across both studies conducted in Sweden, we find that COVID-19 was associated with an overall improvement in subjective financial well-being. The positive effect was driven by a general decline in anxiety toward current financial matters, while financial security with regard to the future declined (Study 1) or was unaffected (Study 2). These results might seem paradoxical. But we propose two explanations: (a) People have a limited ability to worry about two things at the same time. Financial problems might therefore be less emotionally salient in the face of more urgent nonfinancial problems and (b) Some people likely experienced an initial slack in their household finances due to decreased spending opportunities at the onset of COVID-19, which to some extent could counteract increased worry about future financial security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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We use the 529 college savings plan setting to investigate whether and why households make suboptimal choices to invest in local assets. We estimate that 67% of open accounts between 2010 and 2020 were located suboptimally due to the plans' tax inefficiencies and high expenses. Over the accounts' projected lifetimes, such investments yielded expected losses of 8% on average or $15.6 billion in 2020 alone. We then investigate why suboptimal investment is so prevalent. Consistent with households' lack of understanding of state-level tax benefits, we find that a meaningful proportion of households does not account for the potential tax benefits and costs of local versus nonlocal 529 investment. Household financial literacy and plan disclosure complexity appear to explain suboptimal investment patterns, which further supports the role of information-processing frictions. Our study presents novel evidence on individuals' preferences for local assets and how information-processing frictions shape their investment decisions, reducing their financial well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relationship between household debt and residents' health. Using the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) database, we find that household debt has a negative effect, which shows asymmetry and persistence on residents' health. Further heterogeneity analysis reveals that an increase in the debt level of non-over-indebted households has a more significant negative impact on residents' health, and, therefore, households need to consider the possible impact on health welfare of increases in their debt level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various factor models extended by Jensen's (J Financ 23:389–416, 1968) alpha have been used to measure the retail investors' portfolio (under-) performance compared to the market portfolio. The previous studies tried to explain this anomaly in behavioral finance by examining retail investors' cognitive biases that induce irrational trading behavior. While operationalizing these cognitive biases in trading is not trivial, researchers still have found measures to proxy for biases and prove their statistical and economic significance. However, these studies only focused on linking one or a subset of behavioral biases and their effect on portfolio performance. In addition, different measures of biases across studies complicate the comparability of results. Therefore, this paper provides a structured overview of the current state of the literature regarding behavioral biases and their measurements to design a behavioral factor model that should help to explain the performance alpha from a behavioral finance perspective. The paper presents an overview of 11 behavioral bias factors and 29 corresponding measurements to consider inputting in such a model. With an application-oriented focus, it is recommended to include the most researched bias factors in a factor model, which are also the most detrimental to portfolio performance, as well as to include the most frequently used and least complex measures, which results in the primary inclusion of the following eight behavioral bias factors: disposition effect, under-diversification, home bias, local bias, lottery stock preference, trend chasing, overtrading, and trade clustering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]