Simplification and Saving
| Title: | Simplification and Saving |
| Author: |
Beshears, John; Choi, James J.; Laibson, David I.; Madrian, Brigitte C.
Note: Order does not necessarily reflect citation order of authors. |
| Citation: | Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David I. Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. Forthcoming. Simplification and saving. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. |
| Full Text & Related Files: |
simplification_saving.pdf (147.5Kb; PDF) 
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| Abstract: | 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 savings plan at a pre-selected contribution rate and asset allocation, allowing them to collapse a multidimensional problem into a binary choice between the status quo and the pre-selected alternative. The intervention increases plan enrollment rates by 10–20 percentage points. We find that a similar intervention can be used to increase contribution rates among employees who are already participating in a savings plan. |
| Published Version: | doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2012.03.007 |
| Other Sources: | http://www.nber.org/papers/w12659 |
| Terms of Use: | This article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Open Access Policy Articles, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-use#OAP |
| Citable link to this page: | http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:9925399 |
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Peer reviewed scholarly articles from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University
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