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Aging and Financial Decision Making

Author

Listed:
  • Keith Jacks Gamble

    (Driehaus College of Business, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois 60604)

  • Patricia A. Boyle

    (Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois 60612)

  • Lei Yu

    (Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois 60612)

  • David A. Bennett

    (Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois 60612)

Abstract

This study examines how cognitive changes associated with aging impact the financial decision-making capability of older Americans. We find that a decrease in cognition is associated with a decrease in financial literacy. Decreases in episodic memory and visuospatial ability are associated with a decrease in numeracy, and a decrease in semantic memory is associated with a decrease in financial knowledge. A decrease in cognition also predicts a drop in self-confidence in general, but importantly, it is not associated with a drop in confidence in managing one’s own finances. Participants experiencing decreases in cognition do show an increased likelihood of getting help with financial decisions; however, many participants experiencing significant drops in cognition still do not get help. This paper was accepted by Teck-Hua Ho, behavioral economics .

Suggested Citation

  • Keith Jacks Gamble & Patricia A. Boyle & Lei Yu & David A. Bennett, 2015. "Aging and Financial Decision Making," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(11), pages 2603-2610, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:61:y:2015:i:11:p:2603-2610
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2014.2010
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Friehe, Tim & Pannenberg, Markus, 2019. "Overconfidence over the lifespan: Evidence from Germany," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    6. Isler, Ozan & Rojas, Andres & Dulleck, Uwe, 2022. "Easy to shove, difficult to show: Effect of educative and default nudges on financial self-management," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C).
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    8. Fabrizio Mazzonna & Franco Peracchi, 2018. "Self-assessed cognitive ability and financial wealth: Are people aware of their cognitive decline?," EIEF Working Papers Series 1808, Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance (EIEF), revised Sep 2018.
    9. Gianluigi Guido & Cesare Amatulli & Andrea Sestino, 2020. "Elderly consumers and financial choices: A systematic review," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(3), pages 76-85, December.
    10. Oscar A. Stolper & Andreas Walter, 2017. "Financial literacy, financial advice, and financial behavior," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 87(5), pages 581-643, July.
    11. Posavac, Steven S. & Ratchford, Mark & Bollen, Nicolas P.B. & Sanbonmatsu, David M., 2019. "Premature infatuation and commitment in individual investing decisions," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 245-259.
    12. André Schmidt, 2017. "Determinants of Corporate Voting – Evidence from a Large Survey of German Retail Investors," Schmalenbach Business Review, Springer;Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft, vol. 18(1), pages 71-103, February.
    13. Kyuhan Lee & Sudha Ram, 2024. "Explainable Deep Learning for False Information Identification: An Argumentation Theory Approach," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 35(2), pages 890-907, June.
    14. Kim, Hugh Hoikwang & Maurer, Raimond & Mitchell, Olivia S., 2016. "Time is money: Rational life cycle inertia and the delegation of investment management," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(2), pages 427-447.
    15. Bonsang, Eric & Costa-Font, Joan, 2020. "Behavioral regularities in old age planning," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 297-300.
    16. Srishti Chauhan & Kavita Indapurkar, 2017. "Understanding Retirement Confidence: With Special Reference to India," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 7(12), pages 1029-1041, December.
    17. Nicolas Eber & Patrick Roger & Tristan Roger, 2024. "Finance and intelligence: An overview of the literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 503-554, April.
    18. Paul Gerrans & Anthony Asher & Joanne Kaa Earl, 2022. "Cognitive functioning, financial literacy, and judgment in older age," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(S1), pages 1637-1674, April.
    19. Li, Xiao, 2020. "When financial literacy meets textual analysis: A conceptual review," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    20. Shulin Xu & Kangqi Jiang, 2024. "Knowledge creates value: the role of financial literacy in entrepreneurial behavior," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, December.
    21. Remya Tressa Jacob & Rudra Sensarma, 2022. "Does knowledge empower? A story of debt literacy and credit usage in rural consumer finance," Working papers 529, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.
    22. Tang, Ning, 2021. "Cognitive abilities, self-efficacy, and financial behavior," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    23. Shohei Okamoto & Kohei Komamura, 2021. "Age, gender, and financial literacy in Japan," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(11), pages 1-20, November.

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