Do not swipe the small stuff: A randomized evaluation of rules of thumb‐based financial education
Theodos, B; Stacy, CP; Hanson, D; et al.Jamison, J; Daniels, R
Date: 13 March 2020
Journal
Journal of Consumer Affairs
Publisher
Wiley
Publisher DOI
Abstract
We perform the first rigorous test of a rules of thumb–based approach to financial education on
consumer behavior and outcomes. We test two rules of thumb that are targeted at reducing credit
card revolving and deliver them in a randomized fashion via email, online banner, and physical
mailer. Using monthly administrative data and ...
We perform the first rigorous test of a rules of thumb–based approach to financial education on
consumer behavior and outcomes. We test two rules of thumb that are targeted at reducing credit
card revolving and deliver them in a randomized fashion via email, online banner, and physical
mailer. Using monthly administrative data and pre- and postintervention credit data on almost
14,000 consumers, we find that the “Don’t swipe the small stuff” rule of thumb reduces
participants’ targeted credit card balance by an average of 2 percent at a cost of around $0.50
per person. The “Credit keeps charging” rule shows a decline as well but the impact is not
significant.
Economics
Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy
Item views 0
Full item downloads 0