When saving is gambling

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Cookson, J. Anthony
• 署名单位: University of Colorado System; University of Colorado Boulder
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-405X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2018.04.001
• 发表日期: 2018
• 页码: 24-45
• 关键词: Prize Linked Savings; gambling; risk aversion; financial literacy; Credit unions

摘要

Prize-linked savings (PLS) accounts, which allocate interest using lottery payments rather than fixed interest, encourage savings by appealing to households' gambling preferences. I introduce new data on casino cash withdrawals to measure gambling, and examine how individual gambling expenditures respond to the introduction of PLS in Nebraska using a difference-in-differences design. After PLS is introduced, individuals who live in counties that offer PLS reduce gambling by at least 3% more than unaffected individuals. The substitution effect is stronger in low-frills gambling environments, which most resemble PLS, indicating that these accounts fulfill the desire to gamble. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.