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Saving Incentives for Low- and Middle-Income Families: Evidence from a Field Experiment with H&R Block

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Author Info
Esther Duflo
William Gale
Jeffrey Liebman
Peter Orszag
Emmanuel Saez

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Abstract

We analyze a randomized experiment in which 14,000 tax filers in H&R Block offices in St. Louis received matches of zero, 20 percent, or 50 percent of IRA contributions. Take-up rates were 3 percent, 8 percent, and 14 percent, respectively. Among contributors, contributions, excluding the match, averaged $765 in the control group and $1100 in the match groups. Taxpayer responses to similar incentives in the Saver's Credit are much smaller. Taxpayers did not game the experiment by receiving a match and strategically withdrawing funds. Tax professionals significantly influenced contribution choices. These results suggest that both incentives and information affect behavior. Copyright by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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File URL: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1162/qjec.121.4.1311
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Publisher Info
Article provided by MIT Press in its journal The Quarterly Journal of Economics.

Volume (Year): 121 (2006)
Issue (Month): 4 (November)
Pages: 1311-1346
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Handle: RePEc:tpr:qjecon:v:121:y:2006:i:4:p:1311-1346

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Papke, Leslie E. & Poterba, James M., 1995. "Survey evidence on employer match rates and employee saving behavior in 401(k) plans," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 313-317, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Poterba, James M & Venti, Steven F & Wise, David A, 1996. "How Retirement Saving Programs Increase Saving," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 10(4), pages 91-112, Fall. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Eckel, Catherine C. & Grossman, Philip J., 2003. "Rebate versus matching: does how we subsidize charitable contributions matter?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(3-4), pages 681-701, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. James J. Choi & David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian, 2005. "$100 Bills on the Sidewalk: Suboptimal Investment in 401(k) Plans," NBER Working Papers 11554, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Engen, Eric M & Gale, William G & Scholz, John Karl, 1996. "The Illusory Effects of Saving Incentives on Saving," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 10(4), pages 113-38, Fall. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. James J. Choi & David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian, 2005. "$100 Bills on the Sidewalk: Suboptimal Saving in 401(k) Plans," Levine's Bibliography 784828000000000649, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Gene Amromin & Jennifer Huang & Clemens Sialm, 2006. "The Tradeoff Between Mortgage Prepayments and Tax-Deferred Retirement Savings," NBER Working Papers 12502, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Ashraf, Nava & Karlan, Dean S. & Yin, Wesley, 2007. "Female Empowerment: Impact of a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines," CEPR Discussion Papers 6195, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Gine, Xavier & Yang, Dean, 2007. "Insurance, credit, and technology adoption : field experimental evidence from Malawi," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4425, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. James J. Choi & David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian, 2005. "$100 Bills on the Sidewalk: Suboptimal Investment in 401(k) Plans," NBER Working Papers 11554, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Juan Ayuso & Juan F. Jimeno & Ernesto Villanueva, 2007. "The effects of the introduction of tax incentives on retirement savings," Banco de España Working Papers 0724, Banco de España. [Downloadable!]
  6. Andreas Oehler & Christina Werner, 2008. "Saving for Retirement—A Case for Financial Education in Germany and UK? An Economic Perspective," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 253-283, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. James J. Choi & David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian, 2005. "$100 Bills on the Sidewalk: Suboptimal Saving in 401(k) Plans," Levine's Bibliography 784828000000000649, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  8. Jeffrey R. Kling, 2007. "Methodological Frontiers of Public Finance Field Experiments," NBER Working Papers 12931, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Saez, Emmanuel, 2007. "Details Matter: The Impact of Presentation and Information on the Take-up of Financial Incentives for Retirement Saving," CEPR Discussion Papers 6386, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Nava Ashraf & Dean Karlan & Wesley Yin, 2006. "Household Decision Making and Savings Impacts: Further Evidence from a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines," Working Papers 939, Economic Growth Center, Yale University. [Downloadable!]
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