The decision to enroll in employer-offered health insurance or purchase insurance in the individual market requires consumers to consider numerous possibilities, most in an environment characterized by imperfect information. This paper introduces an adapted behavioral framework to predict health...

This study is the first to lend empirical support to anecdotal media reports that indicate that real property buyers are willing to pay price premiums based on property names. Using a standard hedonic price model, we explore the price effects of property names that include the terms...

Despite repeated expansions of federal food assistance, food insecurity and hunger continue to affect many Americans. While job loss and poverty are among major contributors, theoretical and empirical literature suggest that households’ ability to borrow and save might provide a buffer...

This is the first study to lend empirical support to anecdotal media reports that indicate that real property buyers pay price premiums based on property names. Using a standard hedonic price model, we explore the price effects of property names that include the terms ícountryî and ícountry...

This paper uses data from the Survey of Consumer Finances to determine the characteristics of people who obtained high-interest loans to meet their short-term financing needs. Results indicate that individuals who were denied credit in the past were one and a half times more likely to borrow...

This paper uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey to examine the differences in individual financial market participation among native-born and immigrant Americans. The results indicate that when compared with natives, immigrants are less likely to own financial assets. A decomposition...

Frequent shifting of household portfolio composition may erode wealth due to poor market timing and transaction costs. If household preferences are stable, the optimal wealth maximizing strategy is periodically rebalancing to maintain a relatively constant ratio of investment assets to wealth...

This paper investigates whether false confidence, as characterized by a high level of personal mastery and a low level of intelligence (IQ), results in frequent investor trading and subsequent investor wealth erosion across time. Using the National Longitudinal Survey (NLSY79), change in wealth...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether low financial literacy is associated with the use of risky mortgages and delinquency. Design/methodology/approach A probit analysis is used to analyze the results of a survey of US homeowners. Findings It was found that borrowers with low...