To estimate the monetary value of ideal financial planning advice, we address three types of benefits that planners provide: increasing wealth, preventing loss, and smoothing consumption. We discuss, then reject the possibility of using survey data to obtain valid estimates of the benefit of...

To analyze the effectiveness of stabilization policies which includes effects on households future income it is central to account for anticipation effects on consumption. We investigate this using high-frequency spending and balance sheet data from a major Danish bank. We examine the behavior...

Pension reforms in many developed countries make individuals shoulder a bigger share of longevity and income risks. The desired response is that individuals accumulate private assets for retirement. Whether this actually takes place, is of paramount relevance for scientists and policy makers. We...

Using data from a randomized controlled trial in 300 public high schools in Peru, this paper studies the potential of school-based financial education programs for youth. The intervention improves students' and teachers' financial knowledge by 0.14 SD and 0.32 SD, respectively. The impact of the...

Repeated payments create a certain habit in terms of the preferred payment method. Its formation stems from the simultaneous effect of a variety of factors, while its persistent character implies a difficulty in its change. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the terms of how...

Poverty is often characterized not only by low and unstable income, but also by heavy debt burdens. We find that reducing barriers to saving through access to free savings accounts decreases participants' short-term debt by about 20%. In addition, participants who experience an economic shock...

Using data from a randomized controlled trial in 300 public high schools in Peru, this paper studies the potential of school-based financial education programs for youth. The intervention improves students’ and teachers’ financial knowledge by 0.14 SD and 0.32 SD, respectively. The impact of...

In this paper, we use the panel of the first two waves of the Household Finance and Consumption Survey by the European Central Bank to study housing demand of European households and evaluate potential housing market regulations in the post-crisis era. We provide a comprehensive account of the...

I examine the financial fragility of German households during the second wave of COVID-19 infections in the winter of 2020/21 by analyzing the households’ ability to come up with EUR 2,000 within one month. About one in three households reports being unable to cover an unexpected expense of...