This study explored how financial hardship relates to life satisfaction, focusing on the roles of financial satisfaction and financial resilience. Results showed that people facing financial hardship tended to report lower satisfaction with both their finances and overall life. However, those with higher financial satisfaction felt more positive about life, even when experiencing financial hardship. Financial satisfaction also helped explain how financial hardship was related to life satisfaction, acting as a mediator. In addition, financial resilience played a protective role as a moderator. It was linked to higher financial satisfaction and reduced the negative impact of financial hardship.
This study investigates how intergenerational economic responsibilities, together with baby boomers' health and financial characteristics, are related to their life satisfaction. Baby boomers, often described as both an affluent generation and a burdened "sandwich generation," face prolonged support to adult children and continued transfers to elderly parents. Drawing on ten annual waves of a nationally representative Korean household panel, we examine these factors in relation to seven domains of life satisfaction: income, leisure, housing, family, relatives/kin, friendship/social ties, and overall life. Using correlated random-effects models with year fixed effects, we distinguish within-household changes from between-household differences. The results show that health and metropolitan residence are the strongest correlates of life satisfaction, while intergenerational burdens are more limited and domain specific. A greater number of co-resident children provides a small increase in satisfaction, but adult-child co-residence and financial support to parents are largely unrelated to shifts of satisfaction. These findings underscore the importance of health promotion and place-based policy strategies while suggesting that the widely invoked "sandwich generation" narrative may not be the most critical factor shaping baby boomers' well-being.
This study extends the Capability Approach to the financial domain by examining financial optimism as a psychological pathway to life satisfaction. Using primary data collected in late 2021, the analysis explored how individual capabilities, external conditions, and financial functionings contribute to financial optimism and, ultimately, life satisfaction. Findings show that both internal and external factors are significantly related to financial behaviors, which in turn foster financial optimism. Financial optimism emerged as a key factor, linking proactive budgeting, maintaining a saving–debt buffer, and engagement with financial products to higher life satisfaction. The results highlight the importance of considering not only financial skills, behaviors, and external resources but also psychological dimensions. Policies and educational initiatives should integrate support from external financial systems with capability development while also fostering individuals’ confidence and optimism, thereby promoting resilience and long-term well-being.
Author(s): Yu Zhang, Jia Qi, Swarn Chatterjee, Jinhee Kim
This paper analyzes the college aspiration–expectation gap among young adults in the United States, utilizing the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and its Transition to Adulthood Supplement (TAS). This study examines the impact of marital status, income, parental closeness, and health on the likelihood of a mismatch between educational expectations and aspirations. We estimate both linear and multinomial models of the gap using nationally representative survey data from 2005 to 2019. Results show that higher household wealth lowers the likelihood of under-aspiration, and closer proximity to mothers lowers the odds of over-aspiration. These results demonstrate how family dynamics and resources shape the young adults' perceptions of their future in school.
Family instability has become increasingly prevalent in the United States, raising concerns about its long-term financial implications. Grounded in life course theory, this study examines the relationship between childhood family stability and adult financial outcomes, specifically total net worth and reliance on public assistance. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79), spanning 1985 to 2020, this study employed correlated random effects (CRE) models to account for unobserved heterogeneity. Results indicate that individuals who lived continuously with both biological parents until the age of 18 had, on average, approximately 66% higher net worth and received 9% less public assistance in adulthood. This study contributes uniquely to the literature by looking at both ends of the economic spectrum (i.e., net worth and public assistance). As family instability becomes more prevalent, financial professionals and policymakers must consider these developmental patterns when designing interventions to promote financial security.
Author(s): Mikel Van Cleve, Nicholas Kieren, Stuart Heckman
Mikel Van Cleve is a researcher and financial planning practitioner focused on how blended family dynamics shape financial decision-making and outcomes. His work examines the limitations of traditional planning frameworks, many of which assume nuclear family households, and explores... Read More →
BIPOC individuals can be defined as Black, Indigenous, and people of color (Watson-Singleton et al., 2023). BIPOC business owners have been growing for the past two decades. According to a recent report, it is estimated that about 30% of small businesses in the U.S. have been operated by owners with BIPOC background (Office of Advocacy, 2022). Previous research has focused on succession planning in family businesses and dichotomous exit strategies (e.g., stewardship or liquidation). However, few studies have examined how race and ethnicity shape small business owners’ preferences on stewardship exit intentions. This study included two important research questions: RQ1) How are exit strategies of BIPOC business owners different compared to White-American business owners? RQ2) How are business and business owner characteristics associated with the decision to engage in stewardship exit intentions?
This study examines how financial asset allocation, particularly equity ownership as a share of non-housing wealth, affects retirement satisfaction among U.S. retirees. Using Wave 15 of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and guided by Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT), the analysis includes 4,248 retired participants. Three models were estimated: (1) an ordered logistic regression with a binary stock allocation threshold (>50%), (2) an ordered logistic regression with categorical equity groups (0–25%, 25–50%, 50–75%, 75–100%), and (3) a generalized ordered logit model treating stock allocation as a continuous quadratic predictor. Findings reveal a statistically significant nonlinear relationship between stock allocation and retirement satisfaction. Retirees with 25–75% of non-housing wealth in equities reported higher satisfaction, though gains diminished at the upper range. The hypothesis was supported: those with more than 50% in equities had 41% higher odds of being “very satisfied.” The optimal allocation was estimated near 52%, minimizing the likelihood of low satisfaction. Marginal effects confirmed that moderate equity ownership significantly increased the probability of reporting high retirement satisfaction. These results emphasize the importance of balanced, strategic asset allocation. Moderate stock exposure aligns with MPT’s efficient frontier, offering practical guidance for financial planners, educators, and policymakers.
This study quantifies the out-of-pocket (OOP) healthcare expenses incurred by graduate students and examines the relationship between OOP expenses and students’ health insurance literacy. We conducted an anonymous Qualtrics survey among graduate students at a research university and obtained 626 valid responses. Our findings provide critical insights into graduate students’ OOP healthcare financial burden and the dual role played by health insurance literacy as a determinant of healthcare expenses. Finally, we offer policy implications to enhance graduate students’ economic well-being, reduce financial stress, and support their academic progression.
Author(s): Thilini Samadhi Weeraratne, Hyungsoo Kim, Janani Nanayakkara
Increasing insurance coverage was the goal of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), partly motivated by a desire to improve medical financial risk protection. The latest estimates suggest that 8.0 percent (27.1 million people) remain uninsured, mostly in low and moderate-income households. Linking respondents between the 2015, 2017, and 2019 March Current Population Survey (CPS) and the corresponding June FDIC-sponsored Unbanked and Underbanked CPS Supplement, we examine the relationship with health insurance coverage and inclusion in the modern financial system and moderating effects of home internet access and health status. We find insurance coverage correlates with financial inclusion. Low-income, uninsured adults are 11.5 percentage points (34.8%) more likely to live in an unbanked household and less likely to have a credit card or emergency savings than low-income, insured adults; they are 5.0 percentage points (9.9%) more reliant on non-bank financial service providers. Among moderate-income households, similar correlations exist between financial inclusion and health insurance coverage. The correlation between uninsurance and financial exclusion remains even when examining households by home internet access and health status. These relationships have implications for achieving universal health insurance coverage through enrolling in online portals or with increased cost-sharing.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools powered by Large Language Models have captured widespread attention of many. There are, however, many unanswered questions about its use. This paper’s goal is to evaluate the use of seven GenAI tools to provide financial advice in three situations: 1) The appropriate amount of emergency savings to hold, 2) The optimal withdrawal rate from retirement funds, and 3) The recommended composition of an investment portfolio. The authors wrote prompts for each situation and provided the same prompt for each situation to each of the seven GenAI tools. In a second step, the race or gender of the individual described in the prompt was changed to learn if the GenAI recommendations would change. This paper reports the outcomes and concludes with recommendations for practice, policy, and research.
Author(s): Brenda Cude, Gianni Nicolini, Swarn Chatterjee
I am a Professor of Finance from the University of Rome (Italy) and my main research interests are on consumer finance, financial literacy, and financial education.
Wednesday April 15, 2026 9:45am - 11:15am PDT Pacific II
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a surge of new investors, with 21% of US investors in 2021 having joined markets within the past two years. These investors were younger, lower-income, and more likely to invest in risky assets like cryptocurrencies while often relying friends and family and social media for information. However, 2024 findings reveal a significant shift: new investor flow dropped dramatically to 8%, while young adult participation fell from 32% to 26%. Still, 2024 new investors continue exhibiting high-risk behaviors, including trading options and investing in crypto. Beyond a decreased flow of new investors, time series data suggests many pandemic investors may have exited the market, indicating the pandemic investor surge has also ebbed.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become increasingly influential, making it crucial to understand what determines public acceptance of AI. Moral foundation theory predicts responses to morally contentious acts, and acceptance of an AI’s decisions is influenced if people feel their moral foundations are considered. While previous research has examined how moral foundations predict awareness and perceptions about AI, public acceptance of AI also needs to be understood in everyday contexts. To address this gap, this research explores the role of moral foundations in shaping acceptance of AI across diverse domains of daily life, using survey data from 614 U.S. participants. Results show that when AI is perceived as causing vulnerability or excluding certain groups and opportunities, people are less likely to accept it in the context of hiring, criminal sentencing, and the automation of jobs. It also suggests that individuals who place a high value on social norms are more likely to accept AI in contexts such as hiring, criminal sentencing, and marketing. This study highlights the importance of considering moral psychology in predicting public acceptance of AI. It suggests stakeholders consider moral foundations in AI design and use, which may address ethical conflicts and guide policy.
