Getting to the Top of Mind: How Reminders Increase Saving

Dean Karlan, Margaret McDonnell (), Sendhil Mullainathan and Jonathan Zinman
Additional contact information
Margaret McDonnell: Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard University

Working Papers from Economic Growth Center, Yale University

Abstract: We develop and test a simple model of limited attention in intertemporal choice. The model posits that individuals fully attend to consumption in all periods but fail to attend to some future lumpy expenditure opportunities. This asymmetry generates some predictions that overlap with models of present-bias. Our model also generates the unique predictions that reminders may increase saving, and that reminders will be more effective when they increase the salience of a specific expenditure. We find support for these predictions in three field experiments that randomly assign reminders to new savings account holders.

Keywords: intertemporal consumer choice; savings; attention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D91 E21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40 pages
Date: 2010-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp, nep-mfd and nep-mkt
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (87)

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http://www.econ.yale.edu/growth_pdf/cdp988.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Getting to the Top of Mind: How Reminders Increase Saving (2010)
Working Paper: Getting to the Top of Mind: How Reminders Increase Saving (2010)
Working Paper: Getting to the Top of Mind: How Reminders Increase Saving (2010)
Working Paper: Getting to the Top of Mind: How Reminders Increase Saving (2010)
Working Paper: Getting to theTop of Mind: How Reminders Increase Saving (2010)
Working Paper: Getting to the Top of Mind: How Reminders Increase Saving (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:egc:wpaper:988

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