Over the past century, Americans have had significant increases in personal income yet personal savings has decreased. The researchers examine college students＇ habits and beliefs concerning saving for retirement. To...Over the past century, Americans have had significant increases in personal income yet personal savings has decreased. The researchers examine college students＇ habits and beliefs concerning saving for retirement. To our knowledge, no study has examined retirement savings among Americans in this age group. We try to determine whether a student＇s retirement savings beliefs and habits can be predicted. Using a unique survey, five indexes are constructed to assess students＇ risk-aversion level, financial background, general savings habits, financial literacy, and attitudes toward saving. This index is used to predict a similarly constructed index of retirement savings behavior. We find that our overall model is predictive of a student＇s beliefs and habits in regards to saving for retirement. In addition, the student＇s level of risk-aversion, savings beliefs and financial literacy were each independently predictive of retirement savings behavior. Various demographic influences on the constructed risk and savings variables as well as interactions are also investigated.展开更多
文摘Over the past century, Americans have had significant increases in personal income yet personal savings has decreased. The researchers examine college students＇ habits and beliefs concerning saving for retirement. To our knowledge, no study has examined retirement savings among Americans in this age group. We try to determine whether a student＇s retirement savings beliefs and habits can be predicted. Using a unique survey, five indexes are constructed to assess students＇ risk-aversion level, financial background, general savings habits, financial literacy, and attitudes toward saving. This index is used to predict a similarly constructed index of retirement savings behavior. We find that our overall model is predictive of a student＇s beliefs and habits in regards to saving for retirement. In addition, the student＇s level of risk-aversion, savings beliefs and financial literacy were each independently predictive of retirement savings behavior. Various demographic influences on the constructed risk and savings variables as well as interactions are also investigated.
