Publications

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01 Mar 2006
News

Can the United States Avoid a Fractured Future?

We’re bringing religion and some very personal terms into it. A whole series of fissures that have sat quiet in this country for a long time can be revived if there isn’t space for moderation. What can be done to bring the country... View Details

Keywords: Lewis I. Rice; Finance; Finance

March 2025
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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01 Apr 2020
News

Happy Because He’s Blind

most valuable lesson: Life without obstacles removes opportunities for growth,” he said. “We have to choose to deliberately frame our perception, or we allow the circumstances of life to determine our happiness.” Now a finance executive... View Details

2011
Chapter

How Does Simplified Disclosure Affect Individuals' Mutual Fund Choices?

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

We use an experiment to estimate the effect of the SEC's Summary Prospectus, which simplifies mutual fund disclosure. Our subjects chose an equity portfolio and a bond portfolio. Subjects received either statutory prospectuses or Summary Prospectuses. We find no... View Details

Keywords: Information; Corporate Disclosure; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Behavior; Retirement; Personal Finance; Investment Funds; Microeconomics

14 Sep 2018
News

Lessons Learned 10 Years After the Financial Crisis

Hank Paulson (MBA 1970) (Yahoo Finance Video) Hank Paulson (MBA 1970) (Yahoo Finance Video) Former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson (MBA 1970) sat down recently with former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben... View Details

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

2014
Chapter

Who Uses the Roth 401(k), and How Do They Use It?

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

Using administrative data from twelve companies that added a Roth 401(k) option between 2006 and 2010, we describe the characteristics of Roth contributions. Approximately one year after the Roth is introduced, 9% of 401(k) participants have positive Roth balances.... View Details

Keywords: Retirement; Investment Funds; United States

January 2012 (Revised March 2012)
Case

Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA)'s Entry into the Retirement Market

By: Lauren Cohen and Christopher Malloy

This case examines Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA)'s decision to enter the retirement market with their new "Dimensional Managed DC" product, a complete retirement solution that aimed to provide investors with what they really wanted: the same standard of living in... View Details

Keywords: Retirement; Asset Management

November 2011
Teaching Note

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (TN)

By: Josh Lerner, Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

Keywords: Retirement; Investment Funds; Canada

February 2014
Background Note

“When I look back…” Reflections of Bernard Madoff

By: Eugene F. Soltes and Sara Hess

This background note for instructors provides details of Bernard Madoff's career and the classroom recording. View Details

Keywords: Ponzi Scheme; Crime and Corruption; Personal Development and Career; Finance; United States

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

SSRN

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30 Apr 2014
Research & Ideas

Venture Investors Prefer Funding Handsome Men

personal persuasion. Kearney, her twin sister, is an entrepreneur and scholar whose research is fueled by both a frustration with and curiosity about the dearth of venture capital for women. (In the first half of 2013, companies with at... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; 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

March 2009 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Zopa: The Power of Peer-to-Peer Lending

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Isabel Fernandez-Mateo and David Chen

Zopa, a U.K.-based peer-to-peer lending company, connected individual lenders and borrowers via an online interface. The company charged a small fee for completed loan transactions but has not turned a profit. Zopa offered two platforms, Markets and Listings. Markets... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Personal Finance; Market Participation; Digital Platforms; Social and Collaborative Networks; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom