Sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE) are the most detailed source of expenditure data collected directly from households by the Federal government. In addition, information on income, assets and liabilities, and demographics are collected from a large, nationally representative sample of consumers. The result is a unique and rich source of data of interest to researchers, educators, advocates, policymakers, and others in a variety of fields. Moreover, these data, both tabular and at the household level (i.e., microdata), are publicly available for free download.
The goal of the session is to introduce attendees regardless of their career stage (undergraduate to experienced professional) to a new data set, and to CE staff who can assist them in use of these data. The data are useful to those interested in consumer economics generally, and/or in financial planning and related topics.
This session features a panel of presenters, all of whom are early in their careers. For most or all, the CE data compose the first major data set with which they have worked professionally. Five are from the CE program, while one is a professor of economics who is not affiliated with the BLS.
Understanding financial risk is an integral part of making decisions about investing. Without adequate knowledge of financial risk, a consumer’s investment decisions may be based on misperceptions. Conversely, a sound understanding of financial risk may help consumers deploy risk-mitigation strategies, like diversification, and assess various investment products to identify those that align with their goals and risk tolerance._x000D_ To examine how consumers think about financial risk — as well as the relationships among risk comprehension, risk tolerance, and asset holdings — we fielded a survey to a nationally representative, probability-based sample. The survey gauged respondents’ financial risk comprehension, financial risk tolerance, asset holdings, recognition of risk-mitigation strategies, and specific risk-related investing concerns._x000D_ Results indicate that, while most consumers have a rudimentary understanding of investment risk, fewer are able to recognize risk-mitigation strategies. We find that those with higher risk comprehension tend to be more willing to take financial risk, and that investors and non-investors have different risk-related concerns about investing. We also find that investors’ risk comprehension and risk tolerance generally align with portfolio choices._x000D_ Findings suggest that consumers’ concerns about inflation and liquidity may be especially important for financial educators when beginning conversations about investment risk and how to manage it.
Previous studies have demonstrated the benefits of using financial planners (Hanna, 2011, Elmerick et al., 2002; White & Heckman, 2016; Reiter & Qing, 2024). However, there are other sources that consumers use to obtain financial advice such as asking friends and family, using online services, calling around, or asking other non-financial planner professionals such as bankers and attorneys. Most studies have not examined the other sources of information that consumers use to seek financial advice. Therefore, this study mainly focuses on the specific service that consumers utilized including internet/online services, friend/relative, banker, call-around, and financial planner. To our best knowledge, little research has been conducted by comparing the specific help-seeking resources. In addition, to map out the decision differences between borrowing and investing, this study examined them separately. _x000D_ This study used the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) to examine the decision-making for borrowing and investing. Data from the SCF are widely used in financial planning and economic areas. For the 2022 wave of the survey, 4,595 households were interviewed. This study mainly focused on the most frequently used when making decisions about borrowing and investing; therefore, 3,807 observations were included for the estimation.
This study examines the association between financial literacy confidence and financial satisfaction among Asian Americans using the 2021 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) AAPI oversample. The findings emphasize the significant role of financial confidence—both overconfidence and underconfidence—in shaping retirement planning behaviors and overall financial satisfaction among Asian Americans. Underconfident individuals were less likely to engage in retirement planning and reported lower financial satisfaction. In contrast, overconfident individuals, despite not exhibiting more proactive retirement planning, reported higher levels of financial satisfaction. Mediation analysis further indicates that underconfidence leads to reduced retirement planning, which, in turn, results in lower financial satisfaction. The findings of this study suggest that financial professionals could benefit from helping underconfident individuals build their financial literacy and encourage proactive retirement planning, while also tempering overconfident individuals' decision-making to ensure they make informed, long-term financial choices. Additionally, promoting the value of retirement planning, particularly non-employer-sponsored accounts, could improve financial satisfaction.
This study investigates the relationships among perceived competitive wage, job satisfaction, employee morale, and perceived financial well-being through a serial mediation model. Using a nationally representative dataset of 2,036 U.S. full-time employees under 50 years old, split evenly between state and local government and private sector workers, the study examines whether job satisfaction and employee morale mediate the impact of perceived competitive wage on financial well-being. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory and Equity Theory, the model hypothesizes that competitive wage perceptions improve financial well-being both directly and indirectly by fostering job satisfaction, which in turn enhances morale. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with control variables for age, gender, income, ethnicity, and marital status confirms significant direct and indirect effects. Results show that perceived competitive wage positively affects financial well-being, with job satisfaction and morale as significant mediators in this relationship. These findings underscore the importance of fair compensation and supportive work environments for enhancing financial well-being, suggesting that organizations can benefit from wage policies and workplace practices that promote satisfaction and morale. This study contributes to the understanding of workplace factors influencing employee financial health, with implications for human resource management and organizational policy.
Access to pediatric healthcare remains limited for many families, with provider shortages, financial constraints, and geographical obstacles restricting access. Virtual healthcare (telehealth) represents a promising tool to address these gaps, yet its effectiveness in improving pediatric health outcomes remains underexplored. This study leverages a unique dataset combining data from the only pediatric-focused telehealth provider in the United States and the University of Michigan's National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA) Health Care Services Data. By assessing telehealth's potential to enhance access and improve health outcomes for underserved children, this study aims to inform policies and practices that align with ACCI's mission to improve economic well-being and consumer health outcomes, identifying effective models for telehealth implementation in pediatric care.
This study examined racial/ethnic, age, and gender differences in wealth persistence among U.S. older adults, focusing on housing wealth (non-liquid assets) and non-housing wealth (liquid assets), alongside household income, and further evaluated whether sense of purpose in life moderates these wealth differences in later life. Data were from the Self-Administered Questionnaire in the 2018 Health and Retirement Study. We estimated ordinary least squares regression models with interaction terms to evaluate moderation effects, adjusting for health, family statuses, and socioeconomic characteristics. Multiple moderation analyses revealed evidence that sense of purpose in life buffered against racial/ethnic and age differences in wealth, but not gender. Specifically, sense of purpose in life and income interacted uniquely for Hispanic older adults. Higher self-reported purpose in life is associated with higher levels of household income, non-housing wealth, and housing wealth. This effect was most pronounced among the youngest age subgroup (ages 51-64) and the oldest age group (ages 80+). We discuss the protective effect of sense of purpose in life in mitigating differences in wealth across various groups of older adults. Through further research and interventions, there is potential to bolster sense of purpose in life and systematically address wealth differences across the life course.
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is one of the newest short-term credit options available in the marketplace today. It is designed to be an interest-free way of splitting the cost of a good or service into smaller payments, to be repaid in full over the course of six weeks. BNPL has seen exponential growth over the last five years, yet it is still a highly unregulated form of credit. The study will explore the profile of the typical BNPL user financial behavior with the ultimate goal of answering the question of whether BNPL is a prudent financial practice utilized by the financially savvy or a predatory form of credit designed to target the financially vulnerable. The 2023 Survey of Household Economics and Decision-Making (SHED) to attempt to answer these questions. Finally, this study advocates for regulatory bodies in the United States to devise legislation to protect the most vulnerable from some of the most potent risks of BNPL products, including loan stacking and overextending for the study results show that BNPL is predatory.
Pawn loans, payday loans, check cashers, and other non-bank financial products provide a crucial credit source to lower income households, although empirical literature on how these “fringe banks” affect well-being is mixed. We test whether the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion reduced demand for these controversial products by assisting households with medical expenditure risk. _x000D_ We show reductions in use of fringe banks result from increases in insurance and reductions in medical expenditures. We find that Medicaid eligibility decreases use of fringe bank products on average, particularly fringe credit products. Importantly, however, the effect of the Medicaid expansion on fringe bank use varies substantially by state. Using detailed information on state policies and machine learning, we show that how states expanded Medicaid is crucial to whether individuals in that state report improved financial outcomes as a result of the Medicaid expansion.
After the 2018 Supreme Court decision overturning Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which had effectively banned sports betting nationwide, 38 states legalized sports gambling. As a result, between 2019 and 2023, the total amount legally wagered on sports increased tenfold. This study assesses the causal impact of sports gambling legalization on alternative financial service use using a nation-wide 1% sample of individual-level payday loan application data from Clarity from 2014 to 2021. I leverage state-quarter level variation in the legality of sports gambling after the 2018 Supreme Court decision using a two-way fixed effects framework with staggered treatment timing introduced by Callaway and Sant’Anna (2021). The convenience of app-based betting platforms, offering the ability to place bets at any time from any location, raises concerns about the potential for exacerbating gambling problems that increase financial hardships. Research has yet to explore these potential consequences of legalized sports gambling on alternative financial service use. This study provides empirical evidence for policymakers and advocacy groups to consider in the development of regulations to mitigate the negative externalities of gambling legalization on personal and household financial well-being.
