UBC-DIBS Behavioural Insights Seminar
Friday, Mar. 13
*Special hybrid seminar: 1-2:30pm Pacific*
Register to attend on Zoom at https://bit.ly/DIBSseminar or in person at https://bit.ly/DIBS-Rosa.
When Expenses Loom Large: How Income Volatility Shapes Perceived Financial Constraints and Liquidity Preservation
Ekaterina Y. Goncharova & Wendy De La Rosa*
University of Pennsylvania
Income volatility is a defining feature of many households’ finances, yet its psychological impact is poorly understood. Evidence from nine experiments and analyses of Federal Reserve and banking transaction data demonstrates that higher income volatility increases perceived financial constraints, even after accounting for total income, payment frequency, income predictability, and other income features. This work identifies expense timing salience (i.e., consumers’ focus on expenses and their potential misalignment with income) as a key mechanism. As income volatility increases perceived financial constraints, it increases liquidity preservation and reduces spending. However, the effect of income volatility on saving depends on the liquidity implications of the decision: volatility decreases saving when the action reduces liquidity (e.g., transferring funds to a savings account), but increases saving when it enhances liquidity (e.g., retaining more funds in checking). Thus, saving and spending are not simple inverses; factors that decrease spending can also decrease saving. Together, these findings establish a causal link between income volatility and perceived financial constraints, clarify when and how income volatility influences saving, and reconcile conflicting findings in prior research.
The UBC-DIBS Behavioural Insights Seminar series features researchers and practitioners sharing their field and lab projects using the behavioural and decision sciences to “nudge for good”. Recordings of past seminars are available on the BI wiki here. To subscribe or unsubscribe, email dibs@sauder.ubc.ca.