Risk-defusing operators (RDO) are actions that reduce risk, to be enacted either before a negative event occurs (pre-event RDOs) or afterwards (post-event RDOs). For post-event RDOs, detection probability of the negative events is relevant. Regulatory focus theory suggests that...

Financial transactions involve costs and benefits. This also holds for loan transactions where the loan itself constitutes the main cost and the loan-financed possession constitutes the main benefit. This paper aims to investigate how the way consumers mentally associate costs and benefits...

Loan repayment can be viewed as a sequence of instalments. Instalments can either fall over time (i.e., repaying more in the beginning and less in the end), rise or stay constant. Three studies investigated whether the well-established preference for improvement (i.e., falling profiles) can also...

Economic decisions in private households involve two aspects: what to buy and how to finance it. Models of spending and financing are presented, and determinants of credit decisions in the private household are discussed. It is proposed that both situational characteristics (e.g., gender roles,...

Information campaigns to increase tax compliance could be framed in different ways. They can either highlight the potential gains when tax compliance is high, or the potential losses when compliance is low. According to regulatory focus theory, such framing should be most effective when it is...