We design, field and exploit survey data from a representative sample of the French population to examine whether informative social interactions enter households'stockholding decisions. Re- spondents report perceptions about their circle of peers with whom they interact about financial matters,...

Economic theory suggests that households should invest their financial wealth in a combination of cash and a well-diversified equity portfolio. Yet, many households' equity investments are strongly concentrated in a few assets. Attempts to explain this discrepancy have included low levels of...

Household investment mistakes are an important concern for researchers and policymakers alike; portfolio underdiversification ranks among those mistakes that are potentially most costly. However, its roots and empirical importance are poorly understood. I estimate quantitatively meaningful...

This paper studies why investors buy dividend-paying assets and how they time their consumption accordingly. We combine administrative bank data linking customers' consumption transactions and income to detailed portfolio data and survey responses on financial behavior. We find that private...

Exploiting French survey data, we empirically ascertain whether earnings uncertainty and borrowing constraints decrease households demand for risky assets, consistent with theoretical predictions. A major empirical problem is the potential endogeneity bias of income risk, as more risk averse...

We examine the portfolio-choice puzzle posed by Canner, Mankiw, and Weil (1997). The idea is to test a conclusion reached by Elton and Gruber (2000), stating that a bonds/stocks ratio which decreases in relation to risk tolerance does not necessarily mean a contradiction of modern...

We study the relative importance of social factors (including household, workplace, and neighbourhood peer effects) and personal characteristics (including age, gender, tax rates, and funds under management) for asset allocation decisions. The most important factors (in order) are household peer...

We analyze households' joint investment decisions for financial wealth and homes. We use a bivariate censored regression model with endogenous switching. Fixed costs or transaction costs are captured by an unobserved nonzero censoring threshold. The model allows for spill-over effects of a...

Using administrative panel data from Norway, we investigate the development of household labor income, financial wealth and asset holdings over a nine-year period surrounding job loss. Consistent with a simple theoretical model, the data show precautionary saving and a shift toward safer assets...