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Financial Decision Making

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Budgeting and financial planning can be difficult at any age. RAND research aims to help children, young adults, and seniors understand how to make better financial decisions and help policymakers and companies develop better financial decisionmaking tools and resources.

News Release
Parents Who Support Unemployed Adult Children Curb Their Own Behavior
Parents who financially help their unemployed adult children offset such costs by adjusting their behavior, particularly by spending less money on food, working more, and reducing retirement savings.
Jul 9, 2019
Report
Americans' Financial Difficulties Continue
As the pandemic continues, many U.S. households are struggling to pay their bills. No income group has been spared financial difficulties, but the most-vulnerable households have been hit the hardest. There are severe challenges among lower-income workers and among Black and Hispanic households.
Dec 17, 2020

Explore Financial Decision Making

Tool
RAND HRS Longitudinal File 2020 (V1) Documentation: Includes 1992-2020 (Early Release)
This tool is a cleaned, easy-to-use, and streamlined data product containing information from the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal household survey that facilitates research into different aspects of population aging in the United States.
Apr 13, 2023
Journal Article
Saving Regret and Procrastination
Saving regret, or the wish in hindsight to have saved more earlier in life, is widespread in older populations. Little of the variation is explained by procrastination and psychological factors. Unemployment, health, and divorce are larger factors.
Nov 23, 2022
Report
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Resources: Financial Management Programming Evaluation
The authors examined how the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has programmed its resources, focusing on the reasons for changes over time and the results of the changes.
Jun 8, 2022
Journal Article
Pathways to Retirement Among Dual Earning Couples
This paper examines the transition from full-time work to fully retired among dual earning couples, which we call joint retirement trajectories. We analyze 12 waves of the Health and Retirement Study to map out the distribution of potential pathways that couples undertake when retiring.
Apr 21, 2022
Brochure
Spotlight 2021–2022
Spotlight 2021-2022 highlights selected RAND Europe projects that address the important issues of our time. It also features research that is poised to make a difference in the coming year.
Feb 23, 2022
Commentary
Protecting the Elderly from Financial Exploitation
Older adults are more vulnerable to scams and more likely to have money and assets than their younger counterparts of the same race/ethnicity. Policy solutions that provide protection against financial fraud could help older adults to live more financially stable lives.
Oct 14, 2021
Commentary
When a Free Trial Is Anything But
Several strategies could help protect consumers from subscription traps. Strategies could include providing better information showing that a free trial is followed by a subscription, reminding consumers that they have a subscription, and allowing consumers to easily cancel.
Aug 2, 2021
Report
Future of the Credit Information Market: Final report
This project identified the factors influencing change and developed four plausible future scenarios for 2030 that provide insights into the implications for the credit information market, the lending markets, consumers and wider society.
Jul 29, 2021
Multimedia
Exploring Workplace Financial Wellbeing Interventions
Workplace financial wellbeing interventions could offer a key means for addressing rising financial concerns and mental health issues in the workplace. In this video, Christian van Stolk and Jennifer Bousfield describe their findings from an extensive analysis of British and Asian workplace survey data.
Mar 9, 2021
Infographic
Workplace financial wellbeing interventions and the mental health of young workers
In this study we explore the likely and proven impact of workplace financial wellbeing interventions on the mental health of young workers, through analysis of Britain and Asia's Healthiest Workplace survey data and a literature review.
Mar 8, 2021
Report
Workplace financial wellbeing interventions for young workers: A review of the evidence and analysis of Britain's Healthiest Workplace (BHW) and Asia's Healthiest Workplace (AHW) surveys
In this study we explore the likely and proven impact of workplace financial wellbeing interventions on the mental health of young workers, through analysis of Britain and Asia's Healthiest Workplace survey data and a literature review.
Mar 8, 2021
Journal Article
How Did the Reintroduction of the Social Security Statement Change Workers' Expectations and Plans?
This study fielded a survey in RAND's American Life Panel, coinciding with the partial reintroduction of the Social Security Statement. The findings indicate that regular mailings can play a role in shaping workers' retirement plans.
Mar 3, 2021
Journal Article
Financial Literacy and Financial Decision-Making at Older Ages
This paper examines how financial literacy is associated with three types of financial decisions pertinent to older individuals: adherence to timely credit card repayment, stock market participation, and risk diversification of household assets.
Feb 9, 2021
Report
RAND Behavioral Finance Forum: Financial Security Over the Lifespan
Video compilation of the 2020 Behavioral Finance Forum (BeFi). Leaders from academia, government, regulatory agencies, and industry were invited to share the latest research and exchange ideas on the theme of financial security over the lifespan.
Feb 2, 2021
News Release
Financial Woes Grow Worse Over Course of Coronavirus Pandemic; More Families Report Trouble Paying Bills
The economic challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic have grown worse since the spring for many American families, with an increasing number reporting that they have trouble paying bills.
Dec 17, 2020
Journal Article
Financial Knowledge and Portfolio Complexity in Singapore
This paper reports the first analysis of older Singaporeans' financial literacy using a unique new dataset, the Singapore Life Panel (SLP®).
Sep 20, 2019
Dissertation
Choose Wisely: A Study of College Major Choice and Major Switching Behavior
This dissertation explores the college major decision-making process, both for initial and subsequent major choices, and analyzes the associations between major choice behaviors and student outcomes such as time to degree and probability of graduation.
Aug 31, 2018
Dissertation
Financial Education among Financially Vulnerable Populations in the United States
Examines if state-mandated financial education improves debt-related and college-going behaviors among economically vulnerable young adults.
Aug 29, 2018
Research Brief
Many Americans Follow Nontraditional Paths to Retirement
Most U.S. seniors don't follow the “standard” pattern of retirement. For example, many stay in full- or part-time posts past age 70. Health and economic factors, cognitive abilities, and personality traits can shape Americans' retirement paths.
Jul 30, 2018

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RAND Topic:
Financial Decision Making

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Andrew M. Parker

Senior Behavioral and Social Scientist

Andrew M. Parker is a senior behavioral and social scientist at the RAND Corporation and a professor within the Pardee RAND Graduate School. His research applies core concepts in behavioral decision research to the understanding of decisions in complex, real-world situations. He has led or…
Yael Katz

Policy Analyst

Yael Katz (she/her) is a policy analyst at the RAND Corporation. She most recently completed an IPA with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau where she researched reservists and their SCRA rights. Katz is an IES WWC certified reviewer. She has worked on a variety of different topics at RAND,…

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