Credit card companies charge an interchange fee for each transaction, and almost half of this fee is returned to consumers in the form of a reward or perk program. Among credit card users who do not use cards for borrowing (convenience users), rewards are a means to negotiate the implicit price...

This study explores consumers' ability to accurately estimate the value of a life annuity product. Using a special experimental module from the 2008 Health and Retirement Study, higher levels of financial sophistication and numeracy showed no impact on an individual's ability to accurately value...

Because life annuities provide significant theoretical benefits to retirees, the lack of demand for life annuities is a puzzle that is not well understood. It has been hypothesized that some combination of ambiguity aversion, the desire to leave inheritances, and liquidity needs reduce annuity...

This study uses the 2009 Financial Capability Study dataset to examine the association between individuals' financial literacy and their costly borrowing decisions. The results indicate that financial literacy is indeed negatively associated with costly borrowing behaviors. Other factors such as...

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the increase in the proportion of U.S. households with financial obligations greater than 40% of income was due to mistakes or over-optimism. The proportion of households paying more than 40% of income for debt, rent, vehicle leases, property...

This study uses the 2009 National Financial Capability Study dataset to examine the factors associated with information search behavior by consumers when applying for a loan. The results indicate that financial literacy, perceived financial knowledge, educational attainment, and engaging the...