Join us for a panel discussion with experts from the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) and MissionSquare Research Institute (MSRI). This session is designed to empower conference attendees with the knowledge and tools needed to secure funding for impactful research.
NEFE's panelists will discuss their commitment to rigorous, innovative, and actionable research that increases the financial education community’s body of knowledge, provides insight into financial behavior, and contributes to the field’s understanding of effective educational practices. Attendees will learn about previously funded research topics, the current grant cycle, and receive tips for successful grant applications.
MissionSquare's head of research will highlight the institute's commitment to supporting research in key public sector workforce areas, including Financial Health and Wellness, Retirement and Workplace Benefits, and State and Local Government Excellence. Attendees will learn about preselected research topics, available data, and survey resources along with funded research opportunities.
This study examines the relationship between mathematical confidence and financial literacy, exploring how both independently and interactively influence financial behaviors. Utilizing data from the 2021 National Financial Capability Study, the research investigates if confidence in mathematics complements financial knowledge in predicting positive financial actions, such as saving, emergency fund management, and retirement planning. Findings indicate that mathematical confidence is significantly associated with specific financial behaviors, including retirement contributions and planning, and that the interaction between mathematical confidence and financial literacy correlates with emergency fund ownership. The study underscores the potential of incorporating mathematical competence into financial education efforts to enhance financial well-being and suggests future research directions for understanding the nuanced roles of math skills in financial decision-making.
Financial literacy is essential for young people’s financial well-being. For young people striving for financial independence, financial well-being is a crucial part of life-satisfaction and identity. Frequent presence on social media and other online platforms makes young people particularly susceptible for commercial persuasion, also exposing them to scams and frauds. Therefore, young people also need digital financial literacy. In the current study, we examined, using structural equation modelling, how young people’s financial and digital financial skills and susceptibility to persuasion relate to online shopping scam victimization, and how online scam victimization affect indebtedness and subjective financial well-being. We found that a high level of financial literacy and digital financial skills reduced young people’s probability to become victims of online shopping scams. Susceptibility to persuasion increased the risk for online shopping scam victimization, which increased the likelihood of indebtedness and decreased subjective financial well-being. Based on our results we argue that financial and digital education should include advanced knowledge of the persuasion techniques in digital environments to help young people combat fraud and scams. In addition to schools and families, also other societal actors and networks are needed to build young people’s resilience to online persuasion and scams.
This study investigates how different indicators of FWB changed between 2017 and 2022 for individuals with varying levels of financial literacy across different income groups in the United States. By analyzing these trends, this study aims to provide insights into the interactive role of financial literacy, economic conditions, and social safety net generosity in shaping FWB. The findings of this study have implications for advancing the theoretical understanding of FWB and for informing financial advising practices and public policy initiatives aimed at enhancing financial stability and resilience among vulnerable populations.
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.
Every day, consumers interact with products that are necessary or make life function in more accessible and interesting ways - whether that’s the toys our children play with, the roads we drive on, or the smoke detectors that keep us safe. Consumers expect products to work as intended and to be tested to be safe and reliable. What most people may not realize is that many of the products and services they interact with are produced, and in some cases, regulated by safety standards. Standards play a vital role in setting product performance requirements, consumer warnings and messaging, and testing and certification protocols. Additionally, consumers, academics and others may be unaware of the standards development process in the United States and that they can participate in, and have a voice in, the development and implementation of the safety standards that impact their everyday lives.
This session aims to explore multidimensional poverty as a framework to capture the diverse and complex aspects of poverty in developed country contexts. Moving beyond traditional income-based measures, this session underscores the need for innovative indicators that reflect diverse dimensions of poverty encompassing education, health, digital access, social connectedness, and more. Papers in this session address the relationship between multidimensional poverty and depressive symptoms, systematic review of multidimensional poverty in developed countries, and comparative analysis of multidimensional poverty in the US and South Korea. Through critical evaluations of existing literature and the development of nuanced, actionable indicators, this session seeks to contribute to the relevant research and inform policy responses aimed at addressing the multifaceted nature of poverty in higher-income settings.
Economic insecurity in older age can reduce the ability to cope with a costly disease and exacerbate racial health disparities. This study asks: How do different sources of financial resources associate with the control of type-2 diabetes, a common chronic condition in older age? We construct a new panel dataset that links electronic health records to employment and credit data for a sample of older adults in [name of state] from 2018-2022. We identify how wage earnings, access to credit, and debt are related to diabetes control and disability-related complications. We examine heterogeneity by race, gender, and income. The risk ratio for a 100-unit increase in credit score is 0.754 for being in the severely uncontrolled vs the controlled diabetes category, indicating a substantial decrease in risk for being in the severely uncontrolled diabetes group, pointing to the association between financial resources and diabetes control. Our high frequency data across diverse resource streams offers unique insights into early warning signs of economic insecurity in older age that contribute to racial disparities.
This study investigates how individual and regional factors influence health satisfaction in South Korea, focusing on disparities in healthcare access and economic resources across regions. Using multilevel analysis, it examines the combined effects of individual sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., subjective health status, chronic illness, disability) and regional variables (e.g., employment rate, fiscal independence, healthcare infrastructure) on health satisfaction. Data were sourced from the 2021 Koreans’ Happiness Survey and regional statistics from Statistics Korea, covering a representative sample of 17,357 individuals and 225 municipalities. Results reveal significant variation in health satisfaction across regions, with individual factors like education and income positively associated with satisfaction, while perceived stress and chronic illness have negative impacts. Regional healthcare resources and economic resilience were found to interact with subjective health, further influencing satisfaction levels. This study highlights the importance of regional economic support and healthcare accessibility in fostering health equity, offering policy insights for addressing health disparities. Through a comprehensive multilevel model, the research provides evidence of the resilience-building role of both individual and regional factors in shaping equitable health outcomes.
This study aims to explore the relationship between health and household wealth in couples using data from the 1996-2020 Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Employing a hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) approach, it examines the economic influences of health issues on household wealth, differentiating between the effects of husbands' and wives' health conditions. The results indicate that wives’ chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, and stroke, are linked to significant reductions in household wealth, whereas similar health issues in husbands have a minimal effect. However, when health problems limit work capacity, the husband’s diseases tend to negatively impact household wealth more than the wife’s. These findings highlight the gender-specific effects of health on wealth and suggest that policymakers should consider these differences when designing policies aimed at health and financial security.
This study examines the role of non-labor income relative to net worth in shaping retirement satisfaction. Specifically, the authors create a ratio comparing income from annuities, pensions, and social security to net worth to observe the role of non-labor income relativity and its contribution to financial stability and quality of life during retirement. Further, we attempt to answer if consistent non-labor income can reduce financial anxiety that may be associated with market fluctuations or economic downturns, which typically affect net worth. In this regard, retirees may feel more secure when they have guaranteed income sources that are independent of market outcomes, which directly impact overall well-being and life satisfaction. Plainly, the objective of this study is to test if non-labor income relative to net worth is associated with retirement satisfaction.
Evidence on child support – or court-ordered payments from the noncustodial parent to the custodial parent – shows receiving payments improves child welfare. Yet, many eligible families do not establish paternity, a prerequisite to child support, nor do they obtain an award. These families are also disproportionately never-married, low income, and have less education. Compounding their financial vulnerability, these same families have also been shown to become disconnected from the labor force and means-tested government support during periods of financial hardship. To measure how these financially precarious families respond to unexpected hardship, I combine the first five years of the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Survey with restricted medical records (1998-2000). Then, I construct a sample of mothers who are child-support-eligible at the time of their child’s birth and exploit a medically determined, severe, and random health shock that effects the child. Importantly this health shock is medically determined to be exogenous to the mother’s behavior e.g., smoking, and has been shown to induce financial hardship. Exploiting this random variation, I measure the likelihood of the custodial parent establishing paternity or obtaining a child support order one year later. I find that in response to increased financial hardship, mothers are 9 percentage points more likely to establish paternity, but I find no significant relationship to establishing child support. These findings speak directly to the significant challenges this population faces and the need for program intervention directly targeted to reducing barriers for these parents. Broadly, they also highlight the additional barriers to financial barriers this group faces which is particularly concerningly in light of increasing precarity and a patch work safety net.
Research shows that consumers enjoy shopping and consuming with others but also that the enjoyment of companionship is diminished during consumption as compared to non-consumption activities. All else being equal, as commercial locations substitute for public spaces (parks, boulevards) as loci for social interaction in large cities, collective well-being should be expected to diminish. A better understanding of what drives enjoyment of companionship during consumption at retail locations, as well as the individual differences in responses to those drivers, may point to avenues to further collective well-being in urban areas. This research explores the role of fundamental social motives, specifically affiliation need, need for independence and fear of exclusion (Neel et al. 2016) in predicting the enjoyment of consumption experiences. As they drive social behavior, we expect social motives to predict enjoyment of consumption experiences.
This research aims to identify consumer segments in the United States with varying attitudes, beliefs, and preferences toward second-hand fashion, leveraging these insights for targeted nudging interventions. The study, using primary data collected via a Qualtrics survey, segments participants based on psychographic variables while considering social norms. The results can inform marketing strategies, policymaking, and fashion industry practices to promote sustainable consumption, enhance consumer economic well-being, and reduce the environmental impact of fast fashion. This research seeks to advance the economic well-being of consumers and families by promoting sustainable and mindful consumption practices.
The purpose of this study, which is part of a larger study, is to identify behavior change stages of consumer recycling behavior based on the transtheoretical model of behavior change (TTM) and examine differences of psychological and cognitive factors between these change stages with national data in the U.S.. In this study we answer following research questions:_x000D_
What are the statuses of consumer recycling behavior by behavior change stages;_x000D_ What psychological and cognitive factors associated with consumer recycling behavior differ by behavior change stages?_x000D_
The results show that most consumers (76.5%) engaged in recycling behavior at various behavior change stages, while a minority of consumers (23.5%) are still not engaging in recycling behavior. Among them, 12.8% never consider recycling._x000D_ One-way ANOVA results show that consumer change processes that can be considered change strategies used by consumers in behavior change are different from earlier stages to later stages. Behavioral skill is positively associated with behavior change stages. In addition, perceived cons of recycling behavior are negatively and perceived pros are positively associated with behavior change stages. Results also suggest that both objective and subjective recycling knowledge may encourage consumer recycling behavior.
