2012-05-24T14:32:45Z Copyright (c) 2012, The RAND Corporation RAND Corporation http://www.rand.org/topics/finance.html http://www.rand.org/events/2012/06/01/event.html Jun 1, 2012 Jun 1, 2012

The BeFi Public Policy Roundtable brings together the brightest minds in behavioral finance to discuss research that combines behavioral science and cognitive psychology with economics and finance.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/05/15/RAND.html May 15, 2012 May 15, 2012

In considering foreign application to acquire U.S. companies, the United States needs to consider both risks as well as benefits in both defense and economic dimensions, write Charles Wolf, Jr., Brian Chow, Gregory Jones, and Scott Harold.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP369-1.html May 8, 2012 May 8, 2012

The fraction of American households that have no bank accounts has long been a concern for policymakers. Estimates from a nationally representative sample, RAND's American Life Panel, suggest that in 2011: 15.5 percent of the population is unbanked; socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals are more likely to be unbanked; unbanked respondents cite financial barriers and personal preference as reasons for not having a bank account.

http://www.rand.org/labor/aging/research/projects/economic-crisis-older-households.html Apr 27, 2012 Apr 27, 2012

What effect has the financial crisis had on households and health? RAND researchers seek to quantify the effects of the crisis on older U.S. households, and the adjustments made in response. With this information, they aim to determine whether downturns in economic status are associated with declines in health.

http://www.rand.org/labor/centers/financial-literacy/projects/low-income-households-401k-auto-enrollment.html Mar 6, 2012 Mar 6, 2012

People with low levels of financial literacy are more easily influenced by the default settings of employee savings plans. The Financial Literacy Center is measuring differences in default effects for employees at companies with auto-enrollment retirement plans, focusing on differential behavior by income.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP353.html Mar 5, 2012 Mar 5, 2012

A preliminary assessment of the impact of the financial crisis on the civil justice system finds that litigation demands on some parts of the system have increased, that funding for state courts may be trending downward, and that there have been disruptions in the legal services economy, in the provision of legal aid, and in the operation and staffing of courts.

http://www.rand.org/labor/centers/financial-literacy/projects/improving-access-financial-services-immigrants.html Feb 17, 2012 Feb 17, 2012

Immigrants are less likely than native-born individuals to use banking services or to participate in formal retirement savings programs. The Financial Literacy Center is identifying the main barriers to these services and developing and testing new products to help improve access.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/working_briefs/WB113.html Feb 10, 2012 Feb 10, 2012

Uses a large-scale field experiment to measure whether people save more if they are better able to understand the relationship between the amount they contribute to a retirement plan and their annual income in retirement.

http://www.rand.org/labor/centers/clasp/research/projects/immigrant-financial-service-barriers.html Feb 8, 2012 Feb 8, 2012

Hispanic immigrants constitute a rapidly growing share of the U.S. population but are less likely to be financially literate than natives. RAND researchers are investigating barriers to Hispanic immigrants' use of financial services and evaluates financial education materials for them.

http://www.rand.org/labor/centers/financial-literacy/projects/choice-between-lump-sums-retirement-annuity-payouts.html Feb 3, 2012 Feb 3, 2012

Households annuitize very little of their retirement savings. The Financial Literacy Center is studying the annuitization choices of retiring workers, designing and implementing new communication strategies that will raise acceptance of annuities, and examining the effectiveness of these strategies.

http://www.rand.org/labor/centers/financial-literacy/projects/valuing-social-security-annuity.html Jan 27, 2012 Jan 27, 2012

Currently, few Americans opt to annuitize their Social Security payments. A better understanding of individuals' preferences for annuitization, obtained via a stated-preference survey, can inform the debate on Social Security reform.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP348.html Jan 19, 2012 Jan 19, 2012

Budgetary pressures imposed by Korea's rapidly aging population and declining fertility rates underscore the urgency of a medium-term fiscal consolidation framework. The author presents a plan for fiscal consolidation and budget reform in which a new parliamentary budget process would be established, centered on a fiscally constrained budget resolution that would be scheduled for adoption prior to consideration of revenue or spending bills.

http://www.rand.org/labor/centers/financial-literacy/projects/financial-bootcamp.html Jan 6, 2012 Jan 6, 2012

Women continue to lag behind men, not only in income, but in overall financial capability and retirement preparedness. A financial "bootcamp" may hold promise as a financial education program for early to mid-career women.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/working_briefs/WB112.html Dec 28, 2011 Dec 28, 2011

Many 401(k) retirement plans allow participants to take loans from their accounts before they retire. However, if they have not paid them off before leaving their jobs, they must pay them in full immediately. This study quantifies how many people take out loans and, of those, how many default. It proposes changes in retirement policy to reduce the financial risk posed by these loans, particularly for vulnerable groups.

http://www.rand.org/labor/aging/dataprod.html Dec 21, 2011 Dec 21, 2011

The Health and Retirement Study is a longitudinal survey of the elderly dating back to 1992. With the support of the National Institute on Aging and Social Security Administration, RAND has made five data sets available for researchers.

http://www.rand.org/labor/centers/financial-literacy/projects/framing-peer-retirement-2.html Dec 14, 2011 Dec 14, 2011

Research suggests that many individuals claim Social Security retirement benefits at younger ages than may be optimal. The Financial Literacy Center is evaluating alternative ways to convey information about when to claim benefits and offering advice to enhance the Social Security Administration's online claiming website.

http://www.rand.org/labor/centers/financial-literacy/projects/effects-lifetime-income-disclosure-retirement-saving.html Dec 14, 2011 Dec 14, 2011

People have difficulty understanding how much money they must accumulate in their working years to create a sufficient stream of income once they retire. The Financial Literacy Center is exploring whether disclosing information about the monthly retirement income stream resulting from an individual's retirement account will change savings behavior.

http://www.rand.org/labor/centers/financial-literacy/projects/geography-financial-literacy.html Nov 18, 2011 Nov 18, 2011

Results from the National Financial Capability Survey show the majority of Americans lack basic numeracy and knowledge of fundamental economic principles. The Financial Literacy Center is analyzing the raw survey data to construct an atlas of financial literacy among U.S. states and among some demographic groups.

http://www.rand.org/labor/centers/financial-literacy/projects/commitment-savings.html Nov 11, 2011 Nov 11, 2011

Many households use commitment devices such as monthly mortgage payments, Social Security, and payroll 401(k) deductions to help them save. The Financial Literacy Center is trying to design a "new and improved" 401(k) that offers a better combination of liquidity and commitment than the current defined contribution pension.

http://www.rand.org/labor/centers/financial-literacy/projects/decisionmaking-low-income-minority-2.html Nov 8, 2011 Nov 8, 2011

Building on two video games it designed to build financial skills among low-income women, the Financial Literacy Center is now re-creating those games for Spanish-speaking players.