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Does product familiarity matter for participation?

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  • Fuchs-Schündeln, Nicola
  • Haliassos, Michael

Abstract

Household access to financial products is often conditioned on previous use. However, banning access when learning is possible may be discriminatory or counterproductive. The 'experiment' of German reunification (exogenously) offered to East Germans unconditional access to (exogenously) unfamiliar capitalist products. Controlling for characteristics, East Germans participated immediately, were as likely to use unfamiliar risky securities as West Germans, and more likely to use consumer debt, without signs of regret. Our results suggest that mistakes of unfamiliar households can be prevented by a knowledgeable and well-incentivized financial sector and by interaction with familiar peers. This implies that regulation should refocus on the financial sector rather than on prohibiting individuals to gain familiarity with financial products.

Suggested Citation

  • Fuchs-Schündeln, Nicola & Haliassos, Michael, 2015. "Does product familiarity matter for participation?," SAFE Working Paper Series 63, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE, revised 2015.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:safewp:63
    DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2473572
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    Cited by:

    1. Goldfayn-Frank, Olga & Wohlfart, Johannes, 2018. "How do consumers adapt to a new environment in their economic forecasting? Evidence from the German reunification," IMFS Working Paper Series 129, Goethe University Frankfurt, Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability (IMFS).
    2. Tabea Bucher†Koenen & Bettina Lamla†Dietrich, 2018. "The Long Shadow of Socialism: Puzzling Evidence on East†West German Differences in Financial Literacy," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 47(2-3), pages 413-438, July.
    3. Goldfayn-Frank, Olga & Wohlfart, Johannes, 2019. "How Do Consumers Adapt to a New Environment in their economic forecasting? Evidence from the German Reunification," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203668, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. Christine Laudenbach & Ulrike Malmendier & Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi, 2020. "The Long-lasting Effects of Living under Communism on Attitudes towards Financial Markets," NBER Working Papers 26818, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Davoli, Maddalena & Hou, Jia, 2018. "Financial literacy and socialist education: Lessons from the German reunification," SAFE Working Paper Series 217, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    6. Sauter, Nicolas, 2015. "Social networks as a catalyst of economic change," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 45-48.
    7. Malmendier, Ulrike M. & Laudenbach, Christine & Niessen-Ruenzi, Alexandra, 2020. "The Long-lasting Effects of Experiencing Communism on Attitudes towards Financial Markets," CEPR Discussion Papers 14939, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    8. repec:mea:meawpa:14282 is not listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Household finance; familiarity; regulation; investor protection; financialliteracy; stockholding; household debt; consumer credit; social interactions; counterfactual analysis; German reunification;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth

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