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Emergency Savings among Persistently Poor Households: Evidence from a Field Experiment.

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Title: Emergency Savings among Persistently Poor Households: Evidence from a Field Experiment.
Authors: Roll, Stephen, Despard, Mathieu, Grinstein-Weiss, Michal, Bufe, Sam
Source: Social Work Research. Mar2023, Vol. 47 Issue 1, p34-49. 16p.
Subjects: Tax laws, Investments, Debt, Cost control, Behavior therapy, Regression analysis, Socioeconomic factors, Surveys, Descriptive statistics, Poverty, Statistical sampling, Sociodemographic factors
Abstract: Low-income households struggle to accumulate emergency savings, which increases economic vulnerability in the face of unexpected events like expensive car repairs. This vulnerability may be even greater among persistently low-income households, which might benefit most from building emergency savings using tax refunds. This study examined the effects of randomly assigned behavioral interventions that incorporated a choice architecture manipulation and savings-related messages aimed at encouraging refund saving and delivered through a free, online tax-filing software program. The study sample comprised 4,536 tax filers, including 1,235 with persistent low incomes. Using administrative tax data and data from a two-wave household financial survey, regression-adjusted treatment impacts were estimated using intent-to-treat analysis to examine whether filers had any of their tax refunds still in savings and how much of their refund they still had saved six months after filing their taxes. Results indicated directional but nonstatistically significant increases in these savings outcomes across three treatment groups for the full sample, yet statistically significant treatment effects among the persistently low-income subsample, effects that were moderated by the prefiling absence of emergency resources. These results suggested that tax-time savings interventions are most effective among low-income households with the greatest needs for emergency savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Social Work Research is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Emergency Savings among Persistently Poor Households: Evidence from a Field Experiment.
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  Data: Low-income households struggle to accumulate emergency savings, which increases economic vulnerability in the face of unexpected events like expensive car repairs. This vulnerability may be even greater among persistently low-income households, which might benefit most from building emergency savings using tax refunds. This study examined the effects of randomly assigned behavioral interventions that incorporated a choice architecture manipulation and savings-related messages aimed at encouraging refund saving and delivered through a free, online tax-filing software program. The study sample comprised 4,536 tax filers, including 1,235 with persistent low incomes. Using administrative tax data and data from a two-wave household financial survey, regression-adjusted treatment impacts were estimated using intent-to-treat analysis to examine whether filers had any of their tax refunds still in savings and how much of their refund they still had saved six months after filing their taxes. Results indicated directional but nonstatistically significant increases in these savings outcomes across three treatment groups for the full sample, yet statistically significant treatment effects among the persistently low-income subsample, effects that were moderated by the prefiling absence of emergency resources. These results suggested that tax-time savings interventions are most effective among low-income households with the greatest needs for emergency savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Social Work Research is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=162090320
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1093/swr/svac028
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        Text: English
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        PageCount: 16
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      – SubjectFull: Tax laws
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Investments
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Debt
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cost control
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Behavior therapy
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      – SubjectFull: Regression analysis
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      – SubjectFull: Socioeconomic factors
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      – SubjectFull: Surveys
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
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      – SubjectFull: Poverty
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      – SubjectFull: Statistical sampling
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sociodemographic factors
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Emergency Savings among Persistently Poor Households: Evidence from a Field Experiment.
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            NameFull: Roll, Stephen
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            NameFull: Despard, Mathieu
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            NameFull: Grinstein-Weiss, Michal
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              Text: Mar2023
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              Y: 2023
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              Value: 47
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