The Age of Reason: Financial Decisions Over the Lifecycle

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Penn collection
Wharton Pension Research Council Working Papers
Degree type
Discipline
Subject
Household finance
behavioral finance
behavioral industrial organization
aging
shrouding
auto loans
credit cards
fees
home equity
mortgages
Economics
Funder
Grant number
License
Copyright date
Distributor
Related resources
Author
Agarwal, Sumit
Driscoll, John C.
Gabaix, Xavier
Laibson, David
Contributor
Abstract

The sophistication of financial decisions varies with age: middle-aged adults borrow at lower interest rates and pay fewer fees compared to both younger and older adults. We document this pattern in ten financial markets. The measured effects cannot be explained by observed risk characteristics. The sophistication of financial choices peaks around age 53 in our cross-sectional data. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that financial sophistication rises and then falls with age, although the patterns that we observe represent a mix of age effects and cohort effects.

Advisor
Date Range for Data Collection (Start Date)
Date Range for Data Collection (End Date)
Digital Object Identifier
Series name and number
Publication date
2007-06-01
Volume number
Issue number
Publisher
Publisher DOI
Journal Issue
Comments
Gabaix and Laibson acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation (Human and Social Dynamics program). Laibson acknowledges financial support from the National Institute on Aging (R01-AG-1665).
Recommended citation
Collection