IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jfamec/v39y2018i1d10.1007_s10834-017-9544-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Program Knowledge and Racial Disparities in Savings Outcomes in a Child Development Account Experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Yunju Nam

    (University at Buffalo, The State University of New York)

  • Elizabeth Hole

    (University at Buffalo, The State University of New York)

  • Michael Sherraden

    (Washington University in Saint Louis)

  • Margaret M. Clancy

    (Washington University in Saint Louis)

Abstract

This study investigated whether participants’ program knowledge was associated with savings outcomes in Child Development Accounts and whether differences in program knowledge explained racial and ethnic disparities in savings outcomes. We used data collected from White, Black, American Indian, and Hispanic treatment participants in the SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK) experiment (N = 1126). Analysis results indicated that knowledge of SEED OK program features was low, especially among members of minority groups. Logit and Tobit regressions showed that program knowledge was positively related to the likelihood of holding a SEED OK account and to individual savings amounts. Gaps in program knowledge were associated with racial disparities in savings outcomes. If Whites and minorities had the same levels of program knowledge, gaps in savings outcomes would have significantly narrowed. The findings call for the development of policy designs and communication tools to enhance knowledge of program features among households with Child Development Accounts, especially racial- and ethnic-minority households.

Suggested Citation

  • Yunju Nam & Elizabeth Hole & Michael Sherraden & Margaret M. Clancy, 2018. "Program Knowledge and Racial Disparities in Savings Outcomes in a Child Development Account Experiment," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 145-162, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jfamec:v:39:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s10834-017-9544-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10834-017-9544-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10834-017-9544-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10834-017-9544-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Patrick Puhani, 2000. "The Heckman Correction for Sample Selection and Its Critique," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(1), pages 53-68, February.
    2. Choi, James J. & Laibson, David & Madrian, Brigitte C., 2004. "Plan Design and 401(K) Savings Outcomes," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 57(2), pages 275-298, June.
    3. Esther Duflo & William Gale & Jeffrey Liebman & Peter Orszag & Emmanuel Saez, 2006. "Saving Incentives for Low- and Middle-Income Families: Evidence from a Field Experiment with H&R Block," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(4), pages 1311-1346.
    4. Gary V. Engelhardt & Anil Kumar, 2007. "Employer Matching and 401(k) Saving: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study," NBER Chapters, in: Public Policy and Retirement, Trans-Atlantic Public Economics Seminar (TAPES), pages 1920-1943, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. James J. Choi & David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian, 2011. "$100 Bills on the Sidewalk: Suboptimal Investment in 401(k) Plans," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(3), pages 748-763, August.
    6. Justine S. Hastings & Brigitte C. Madrian & William L. Skimmyhorn, 2013. "Financial Literacy, Financial Education, and Economic Outcomes," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 5(1), pages 347-373, May.
    7. Yunju Nam & Youngmi Kim & Margaret Clancy & Robert Zager & Michael Sherraden, 2013. "Do Child Development Accounts Promote Account Holding, Saving, and Asset Accumulation for Children's Future? Evidence from a Statewide Randomized Experiment," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(1), pages 6-33, January.
    8. Elliott, William & Destin, Mesmin & Friedline, Terri, 2011. "Taking stock of ten years of research on the relationship between assets and children's educational outcomes: Implications for theory, policy and intervention," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 2312-2328.
    9. Robert L. Clark & Melinda Sandler Morrill & Steven G. Allen, 2012. "Effectiveness of Employer-Provided Financial Information: Hiring to Retiring," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(3), pages 314-318, May.
    10. Esther Duflo & Emmanuel Saez, 2003. "The Role of Information and Social Interactions in Retirement Plan Decisions: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(3), pages 815-842.
    11. Mason, Lisa Reyes & Nam, Yunju & Clancy, Margaret & Kim, Youngmi & Loke, Vernon, 2010. "Child Development Accounts and saving for children's future: Do financial incentives matter?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(11), pages 1570-1576, November.
    12. James J. Choi & David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian, 2005. "Are Empowerment and Education Enough? Underdiversification in 401(k) Plans," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 36(2), pages 151-214.
    13. Brigitte C. Madrian, 2014. "Applying Insights from Behavioral Economics to Policy Design," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 663-688, August.
    14. Jin Huang & Yunju Nam & Margaret S. Sherraden, 2013. "Financial Knowledge and Child Development Account Policy: A Test of Financial Capability," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 1-26, April.
    15. Bernheim, B. Douglas & Garrett, Daniel M., 2003. "The effects of financial education in the workplace: evidence from a survey of households," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(7-8), pages 1487-1519, August.
    16. Agnew, Julie R. & Szykman, Lisa R. & Utkus, Stephen P. & Young, Jean A., 2012. "Trust, plan knowledge and 401(k) savings behavior," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(1), pages 1-20, January.
    17. Brigitte C. Madrian & Dennis F. Shea, 2001. "The Power of Suggestion: Inertia in 401(k) Participation and Savings Behavior," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(4), pages 1149-1187.
    18. Huang, Jin & Sherraden, Michael & Purnell, Jason Q., 2014. "Impacts of Child Development Accounts on maternal depressive symptoms: Evidence from a randomized statewide policy experiment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 30-38.
    19. David Okech, 2011. "Enrollment Decisions in a Child Development Accounts Program for Low-Income Families," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 32(3), pages 400-410, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Francisco J. Oliver-Márquez & Almudena Guarnido-Rueda & Ignacio Amate-Fortes & Diego Martínez-Navarro, 2024. "Regional Comparative Analysis on the Determinants of the Spaniards’ Financial Knowledge," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 4203-4238, March.
    2. Roudi Nazarinia Roy & Anthony G. James & Tiffany L. Brown, 2021. "Racial/Ethnic Minority Families," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 84-100, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Amromin, Gene & Huang, Jennifer & Sialm, Clemens, 2007. "The tradeoff between mortgage prepayments and tax-deferred retirement savings," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(10), pages 2014-2040, November.
    2. Bingzheng Chen & Peiyun Deng & Xiaodong Fan, 2022. "Effect of compulsory education on retirement financial outcomes: evidence from China," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 124(4), pages 958-989, October.
    3. Mitchell, O.S. & Piggott, J., 2016. "Workplace-Linked Pensions for an Aging Demographic," Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, in: Piggott, John & Woodland, Alan (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 865-904, Elsevier.
    4. Gary V. Engelhardt & Anil Kumar, 2007. "Employer Matching and 401(k) Saving: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study," NBER Chapters, in: Public Policy and Retirement, Trans-Atlantic Public Economics Seminar (TAPES), pages 1920-1943, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Keenan Dworak-Fisher, 2011. "Matching Matters in 401(k) Plan Participation," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(4), pages 713-737, October.
    6. J. Michael Collins & Carly Urban, 2016. "The Role Of Information On Retirement Planning: Evidence From A Field Study," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(4), pages 1860-1872, October.
    7. Margaret Miller & Julia Reichelstein & Christian Salas & Bilal Zia, 2015. "Can You Help Someone Become Financially Capable? A Meta-Analysis of the Literature," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 30(2), pages 220-246.
    8. Goda, Gopi Shah & Manchester, Colleen Flaherty & Sojourner, Aaron J., 2014. "What will my account really be worth? Experimental evidence on how retirement income projections affect saving," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 80-92.
    9. Sandro Ambuehl & B. Douglas Bernheim & Annamaria Lusardi, 2022. "Evaluating Deliberative Competence: A Simple Method with an Application to Financial Choice," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(11), pages 3584-3626, November.
    10. John Beshears & James J. Choi & David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian, 2010. "The Impact of Employer Matching on Savings Plan Participation under Automatic Enrollment," NBER Chapters, in: Research Findings in the Economics of Aging, pages 311-327, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Shapiro, Joel & Wu, Stephen, 2011. "Fatalism and savings," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 645-651.
    12. Tim Kaiser & Lukas Menkhoff, 2017. "Does Financial Education Impact Financial Literacy and Financial Behavior, and If So, When?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 31(3), pages 611-630.
    13. Beverly, Sondra G. & Kim, Youngmi & Sherraden, Michael & Nam, Yunju & Clancy, Margaret, 2015. "Can Child Development Accounts be inclusive? Early evidence from a statewide experiment," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 92-104.
    14. Olckers, Matthew, 2021. "On track for retirement?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 76-88.
    15. Mugerman, Yevgeny & Sade, Orly & Shayo, Moses, 2014. "Long term savings decisions: Financial reform, peer effects and ethnicity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 235-253.
    16. Johannes Hagen & Daniel Hallberg & Gabriella Sjögren, 2022. "A Nudge to Quit? The Effect of a Change in Pension Information on Annuitisation, Labour Supply and Retirement Choices Among Older Workers," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(643), pages 1060-1094.
    17. McGowan, Féidhlim P. & Lunn, Peter D., 2020. "Supporting decision-making in retirement planning: Do diagrams on Pension Benefit Statements help?," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(3), pages 323-343, July.
    18. Billari, Francesco C. & Favero, Carlo A. & Saita, Francesco, 2023. "Online financial and demographic education for workers: Experimental evidence from an Italian Pension Fund," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    19. Annamaria Lusardi & Olivia S. Mitchell, 2014. "The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 52(1), pages 5-44, March.
    20. Keenan Dworak-Fisher, 2008. "Encouraging Participation in 401(k) Plans: Reconsidering the Employer Match," Working Papers 420, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jfamec:v:39:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s10834-017-9544-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.