This article tests whether the use of endogenous risk categorization by insurers enables consumers to make better-informed decisions even if they do not choose to purchase insurance. We do so by adding a simple insurance market to an experimental test of optimal (Bayesian) updating. In some...

It is widely accepted that individuals tend to underinsure against low-probability, high-loss events relative to high-probability, low-loss events. This conventional wisdom is based largely on field studies, as there is very little experimental evidence. We reexamine this issue with an...

We propose and test a new method for eliciting curvature-controlled discount rates that are invariant to the form of the utility function. The advantage of this method is that individual discount rates can be obtained without knowledge of risk attitude or parametric assumptions about the form of...

Estimates of risk aversion can be obtained from controlled laboratory experiments. The temporal stability of those preferences is assumed in many applications. This assumption is tested by eliciting risk aversion measures from subjects at two distinct times. Evidence consistent with the...

While much research has focused on the costs of obesity and economic factors that drive obesity growth, little economic research has examined the factors that contribute to obesity -- physical inactivity and poor nutrition. This paper will examine correlates and predictors of physical activity...

Internal Revenue Code guarantees privacy of taxpayer information in the administration of the U.S. income tax. Many state and local governments also support the confidentiality of taxpayer data. However, given the growth in on–line tax filing and reports of breaches in confidentiality of...