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  • 05 Feb 2015
  • Working Paper Summaries

Does Front-Loading Taxation Increase Savings? Evidence from Roth 401(k) Introductions

Keywords: by John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian
  • 23 Nov 2015
  • Working Paper Summaries

Self Control and Commitment: Can Decreasing the Liquidity of a Savings Account Increase Deposits?

Keywords: by John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, Christopher Harris & Jung Sakong; Banking
  • 06 Oct 2020
  • Working Paper Summaries

Optimal Illiquidity

Keywords: by John Beshears, James J. Choi, Christopher Clayton, Christopher Harris, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian
  • 05 Oct 2016
  • Research & Ideas

Why Don't More People Get Flu Shots at Work?

office, or how their daily routine brought him or her near the clinic location. Beshears’s co-authors of the study were James J. Choi, professor of finance at Yale University’s... View Details
Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Health
  • 03 Jan 2017
  • Research & Ideas

5 New Year's Resolutions You Can Keep (With the Help of Behavioral Science Research)

learn more, see The Effect of Providing Peer Information on Retirement Savings Decisions by John Beshears, James View Details
Keywords: by Carmen Nobel
  • 27 Aug 2013
  • First Look

First Look: August 27

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization Simplification and Saving By: Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
  • 31 May 2016
  • First Look

May 31, 2016

June 2016 Medical Care Vaccination Rates Are Associated with Functional Proximity but Not Base Proximity of Vaccination Clinics By: Beshears, John, James J. View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
  • 13 Jan 2015
  • First Look

First Look: January 13

colleges by limiting the number of possible applications. Download working paper: http://www.nber.org/papers/w20774 Does Front-Loading Taxation Increase Savings? Evidence from Roth 401(k) Introductions By: View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
  • 03 Feb 2015
  • First Look

First Look: February 3

  Publications February 2015 Journal of Finance The Effect of Providing Peer Information on Retirement Savings Decisions By: Beshears, John, James J. View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
  • 10 Mar 2015
  • First Look

First Look: March 10

http://amr.aom.org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/content/early/2015/02/10/amr.2015.0042.abstract February 2015 American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings Liquidity in Retirement Savings Systems: An International Comparison By: Beshears,... View Details
Keywords: Carmen Nobel
  • 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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Beshears, John, James J. Choi, Christopher Clayton, Christopher Harris, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "Optimal Illiquidity." Art. 103996. Journal of Financial Economics 165 (March 2025).
  • 2005
  • Article

Early Decisions: A Regulatory Framework

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
We describe a regulatory framework that helps consumers who have difficulty sticking to their own long-run plans. Early Decision regulations help long-run preferences prevail by allowing consumers to partially commit to their long-run goals, making it harder for a... View Details
Keywords: Hyperbolic Discounting; Self-control; Commitment; Consumer Behavior; Taxation; Attitudes
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Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "Early Decisions: A Regulatory Framework." Swedish Economic Policy Review 12, no. 2 (2005): 41–60.
  • 2022
  • Working Paper

Optimal Illiquidity

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, Christopher Clayton, Christopher Harris, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
We calculate the socially optimal level of illiquidity in an economy populated by households with taste shocks and naive present bias. The government chooses mandatory contributions to accounts, each witha different pre-retirement withdrawal penalty. Collected... View Details
Keywords: Illiquidity; Commitment; Flexibility; Savings; Social Security; Retirement; Government Legislation; Taxation; Saving
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Beshears, John, James J. Choi, Christopher Clayton, Christopher Harris, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "Optimal Illiquidity." Working Paper, July 2022.
  • Article

Does Front-Loading Taxation Increase Savings?: Evidence from Roth 401(k) Introductions

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
Can governments increase private savings by taxing savings up front instead of in retirement? Roth 401(k) contributions are not tax-deductible in the contribution year, but withdrawals in retirement are untaxed. The more common before-tax 401(k) contribution is... View Details
Keywords: Saving; Retirement; Taxation
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Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "Does Front-Loading Taxation Increase Savings? Evidence from Roth 401(k) Introductions." Journal of Public Economics 151 (July 2017): 84–95.
  • April 2011
  • Article

Behavioral Economics Perspectives on Public Sector Pension Plans

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
We describe the pension plan features of the states and the largest cities and counties in the U.S. Unlike in the private sector, defined benefit (DB) pensions are still the norm in the public sector. However, a few jurisdictions have shifted towards defined... View Details
Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Public Sector; Retirement; Private Sector; Compensation and Benefits; United States
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Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "Behavioral Economics Perspectives on Public Sector Pension Plans." Journal of Pension Economics & Finance 10, no. 2 (April 2011): 315–336.
  • 2020
  • Chapter

Building Emergency Savings Through Employer-Sponsored Rainy-Day Savings Accounts

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, J. Mark Iwry, David C. John, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
Roughly half of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. When financial shocks occur during their working life, many of these households tap into their retirement savings accounts. We explore the practical considerations and challenges associated with helping households... View Details
Keywords: Savings; Household; Saving
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Beshears, John, James J. Choi, J. Mark Iwry, David C. John, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "Building Emergency Savings Through Employer-Sponsored Rainy-Day Savings Accounts." In Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 34, edited by Robert A. Moffitt, 43–90. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2020.
  • Article

Present Bias Causes and Then Dissipates Auto-enrollment Savings Effects

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Peter Maxted
Present bias causes procrastination, which leads households to stick with auto-enrollment defaults. However, present bias also engenders overconsumption. Separation from each employer generates a rollover of 401(k) balances to an individual retirement account (IRA)... View Details
Keywords: Present Bias; Procrastination; Personal Finance; Decision Making; Social Psychology; Retirement
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Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Peter Maxted. "Present Bias Causes and Then Dissipates Auto-enrollment Savings Effects." AEA Papers and Proceedings 112 (May 2022): 136–141.
  • November 2013
  • Article

Simplification and Saving

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
The daunting complexity of important financial decisions can lead to procrastination. We evaluate a low-cost intervention that substantially simplifies the retirement savings plan participation decision. Individuals received an opportunity to enroll in a retirement... View Details
Keywords: Retirement Savings; Simplification; Procrastination; Behavioral Economics; Saving; Motivation and Incentives; Retirement
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Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "Simplification and Saving." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 95 (November 2013): 130–145.
  • June 2016
  • Article

Vaccination Rates Are Associated with Functional Proximity but Not Base Proximity of Vaccination Clinics

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian and Gwendolyn I. Reynolds
Background: Routine annual influenza vaccinations are recommended for persons 6 months of age and older, but less than half of U.S. adults get vaccinated. Many employers offer employees free influenza vaccinations at workplace clinics, but even then take-up is... View Details
Keywords: Geographic Location; Employees; Health Care and Treatment
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Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, and Gwendolyn I. Reynolds. "Vaccination Rates Are Associated with Functional Proximity but Not Base Proximity of Vaccination Clinics." Medical Care 54, no. 6 (June 2016): 578–583.
  • 2024
  • Working Paper

Does Pension Automatic Enrollment Increase Debt? Evidence from a Large-Scale Natural Experiment

By: John Beshears, Matthew Blakstad, James J. Choi, Christopher Firth, John Gathergood, David Laibson, Richard Notley, Jesal D. Sheth, Will Sandbrook and Neil Stewart
Does automatic enrollment into retirement saving increase household debt? We study the randomized roll-out of automatic enrollment pensions to ~160,000 employers in the United Kingdom with 2-29 employees. We find that the additional savings generated through automatic... View Details
Keywords: Retirement; Saving; Personal Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Compensation and Benefits
Citation
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Beshears, John, Matthew Blakstad, James J. Choi, Christopher Firth, John Gathergood, David Laibson, Richard Notley, Jesal D. Sheth, Will Sandbrook, and Neil Stewart. "Does Pension Automatic Enrollment Increase Debt? Evidence from a Large-Scale Natural Experiment." Working Paper, October 2024.
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