Personal Finance - Publications - Faculty & Research

May 1983 (Revised November 1983)
Background Note

Financial Structure of Corporate Pension Plans and Pension Funds

By: Jay O. Light

Keywords: Capital Structure; Retirement; Finance

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Article

Optimal Illiquidity

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, Christopher Clayton, Christopher Harris, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian

We study the socially optimal level of illiquidity in an economy populated by households with taste shocks and present bias with naive beliefs. The government chooses mandatory contributions to accounts, each with a different pre-retirement withdrawal penalty.... View Details

Keywords: Retirement; Financial Liquidity; Personal Finance; Saving

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November 2009 (Revised March 2011)
Case

New York Life and Immediate Annuities

By: Julio J. Rotemberg and John T. Gourville

By positioning Immediate Annuities as "guaranteed lifetime income," New York Life has built itself a $1.4 billion per year business by 2009. However, to make Immediate Annuities a mainstream financial product for retirees, New York Life must understand why many... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Personal Finance; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Retirement; Salesforce Management; Insurance Industry

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14 Jan 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Smart Money: The Effect of Education, Cognitive Ability, and Financial Literacy on Financial Market Participation

Keywords: by Shawn Cole & Gauri Kartini Shastry; Education; Financial Services

05 Mar 2014
What Do You Think?

When Will the Next Dot.com Bubble Burst?

occur at any time) will be something that awakes the investor that there is a real time value to money, and it might be better to get some current returns ." Konstantin Tryapitsyn suggests what might prick the bubble. "I View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Publishing; Retail

29 Aug 2011
Research & Ideas

Decoding Insider Information and Other Secrets of Old School Chums

situations as well.” The decision to study alumni connections was borne of the professors' personal school ties: both received their PhDs in finance from the University of Chicago. In 2007, each landed a... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

2024
Working Paper

What Drives Variation in Investor Portfolios? Estimating the Roles of Beliefs and Risk Preferences

By: Mark Egan, Alexander MacKay and Hanbin Yang

We present an empirical model of portfolio choice that allows for the nonparametric estimation of investors' (subjective) expectations and risk preferences. Utilizing a comprehensive dataset of 401(k) plans from 2009 through 2019, we explore heterogeneity in asset... View Details

Keywords: Stock Market Expectations; Demand Estimation; Retirement Planning; Defined Contribution Retirement Plan; 401 (K); Finance; Investment Portfolio; Investment; Retirement; Behavioral Finance; Financial Services Industry; United States

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15 Feb 2007
Research & Ideas

Helping Low-Income Families Save More

Podcast with: Peter TufanoInterviewer: James AisnerRunning Time: 18 min., 55 sec. View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner; Banking; Financial Services

October 2008 (Revised August 2010)
Case

The Christmas Eve Closing

By: Peter Tufano

In 2002, two homeowners in Massachusetts are deciding whether to refinance their home less than two years after taking out an initial mortgage and a subsequent home equity line of credit. View Details

Keywords: Mortgages; Personal Finance; Consumer Behavior; Banking Industry; Massachusetts

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01 Mar 2023
News

The Exchange: Micro Management

Image by John Ritter In the 50 years since modern microfinance was introduced as a tool to fight poverty, institutions have distributed hundreds of millions of loans to people in developing countries. Such loans are repaid at rates often as high as 98 percent. Those... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Finance

July 2002 (Revised April 2008)
Case

Helios Health (B)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Price; Customization and Personalization; Information; Investment Return; Health Industry

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April 2024
Article

Pay-As-You-Go Insurance: Experimental Evidence on Consumer Demand and Behavior

By: Raymond Kluender

Pay-as-you-go contracts reduce minimum purchase requirements which may increase market participation. We randomize the introduction and price(s) of a novel pay-as-you-go contract to the California auto insurance market where 17 percent of drivers are uninsured. The... View Details

Keywords: Contracts; Consumer Behavior; Price; Personal Finance; Insurance Industry; California

August 1976
Case

Norman Machinery Products, Inc. (C)

Presents the estate plan worked out by the son to deal with an estate planning issue. The plan involves the use of deferred compensation employment contract with the family business, a key-man life insurance policy, and a split-dollar life insurance policy. View Details

Keywords: Machinery and Machining; Family Business; Personal Finance; Corporate Finance; Manufacturing Industry

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July 2014
Article

Smart Money? The Effect of Education on Financial Outcomes

By: Shawn A. Cole, Anna Paulson and Gauri Kartini Shastry

Household financial decisions are important for household welfare, economic growth and financial stability. Yet, our understanding of the determinants of financial decision-making is limited. Exploiting exogenous variation in state compulsory schooling laws in both... View Details

Keywords: Personal Finance; Investment; Decisions; Behavior; Financial Condition

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26 Nov 2013
News

Care.com, a Site for Caregivers, Aims at Wall Street

Keywords: Health and Personal Care Stores; Health and Personal Care Stores

27 Nov 2012
News

The Beauty of the Network

Pao: A beauty business veteran leverages the HBS network to launch her own skincare line. Photo courtesy Patti Pao Patti Pao (MBA 1987) describes her two years at HBS as “spectacularly unsuccessful,” thanks in part to a culture clash with the section-enforced structure... View Details

Keywords: cosmetics; salmon; Finance; Finance; Finance; Finance; Finance; Finance

26 Jan 2017
News

Finding a Path out of Poverty

Magwegwe, and now that he’s found personal success, he’s using a nonprofit organization, Inspire Belief, to lift others—especially young people in South Africa’s poorest communities—out of poverty and set them on the path to find their... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

01 Jun 2012
News

FAQ

they are awarded a loan package first and then the fellowship amount is determined. Financing the MBA Sample One-Year Budget, Class of 2013 $18,390 Expected Student Contribution - Calculated based on student’s prior earnings and View Details

Forthcoming
Article

In the Red: Overdrafts, Payday Lending and the Underbanked

By: Marco Di Maggio, Angela Ma and Emily Williams

The reordering of transactions from “high-to-low” is a controversial bank practice thought to maximize fees paid by low-income customers on overdrawn accounts. We exploit multiple class-action lawsuits resulting in mandatory changes to this practice, coupled with... View Details

Keywords: Overdraft; Payday Loans; Excessive Fees; Underbanked; Underserved; Income; Personal Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Banks and Banking

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