Publication
Education and Persistence of Earnings Shocks. Joint with Chiara Dal Bianco. Economics Letters, 196 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2020.109527
Working Papers
Saving and Spending Regrets at Retirement. Joint with Stefano Castaldo, Martina Celidoni, Guglielmo Weber and Nancy Zambon. (click here to download)
Abstract: In this paper, we study how retirement affects the individual’s saving/spending regrets. Using the second wave of the SHARE Corona survey we find that newly retired people are more likely to report no regrets and less likely to exhibit saving regrets than workers. Heterogeneity analyses show that the effect of retirement is more pronounced post-pandemic, in countries with pension systems that impose more demanding pension access criteria, and among those with limited financial literacy. Lastly, early retirees and statutory retirees exhibit opposite effects of retirement: while the former report higher saving regrets at retirement, the latter have a lower propensity to show saving regrets at that time.
Women Caring Penalty at Retirement in Europe. Joint with Paola Profeta. Revise & Resubmit Demography (click here to download)
Abstract: We study the effect of (informal) care provision patterns on late-life access to economic resources among women using SHARE data. We find that the earnings drop among women who retired to take care of a relative are about twice the drop of women who retired for other reasons. Moreover, these effects are persistent for at least 7 years after retirement. This result sheds light on part of the unexplained lifetime earnings and the pension gender gap.
Ongoing Projects
Financial distress during the pandemic: the role of government support. Joint with Guglielmo Weber and Nancy Zambon Revise & Resubmit Fiscal Studies
Abstract: We investigate how (the timing of) COVID-19 economic support measures affected household financial distress across 50+ Europeans. Using SHARE data, we track financial well-being before, during, and after the pandemic. Using policy data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker, we distinguish between countries that implemented support at an early versus a later stage. Exploiting a triple-difference identification strategy, we show that timely government interventions significantly reduced financial distress for working-age households experiencing job interruption, while delayed responses led to increased financial strain. The effect is robust to different specificities of the identification strategy. Our finding highlight the importance of not only the generosity, but also timing of fiscal support in times of crisis.
Do women matter in household portfolio allocation?
Abstract: This work investigates the stereotype toward households' portfolio allocation where the man is the only decision maker. I develop a portfolio choice model where households who declare to manage their finances jointly decide about stock market participation and then choose the optimal allocation. The model accounts for household risk tolerance, measured as a weighted sum of the household members' risk preferences. I study the determinants of the household portfolio controlling for selection into participation: the results show that household risk preferences affect portfolio allocation but not stock market participation. Last, I compare the goodness of fit of two models, the one that accounts for the preferences of all the household members and the one that accounts for the preference of only the male decsion-makers. I show that the former approach fits significantly better the data, thus women's preferences matter in household portfolio allocation. Moreover, I find that the role of wives in financial choices may be underestimated.
Subjective Survival Beliefs, Cognitive Skills and Investments in Risky Assets. Joint with Chiara Dal Bianco, Francesca Parodi and Guglielmo Weber
Abstract: We document that the underestimation of subjective survival probabilities negatively affects investments in risky assets in the UK context. We then explore the role of cognitive skills in explaining this negative relationship. More precisely, we disentangle a direct effect of cognitive skills on investments in risky assets through entry costs and an indirect effect through survival probability underestimation. We calibrate a life-cycle model to quantify the importance of survival probability underestimation on suboptimal ownership of risky assets. Using subjective survival curves instead of life table probabilities results in a lower asset accumulation and lower investment in risky assets. These findings suggest that policy interventions aimed at increasing financial literacy are likely to affect the decision to own risky assets not only by reducing entry costs but also by attenuating survival risk underestimation.
Age and Gender discrimination in job opportunities. Joint with Olivia Masi and Paola Profeta.
Other refereed publications
"Effects of Covid-related economic support on households financial distress", joint with Debdeep Chattopadhyay , Greta Pesaresi and Guglielmo Weber (2023). In Axel Börsch-Supan, Agnieszka Chłoń-Domińczak, Anita Abramowska-Kmon, Florence Jusot, Šime Smolić, Karen Andersen-Ranberg, Agar Brugiavini, Guglielmo Weber, Howard Litwin, Life of people aged 50+ during the Covid-19 pandemic: First results from the SHARE Corona Surveys.