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Match Rates and Savings: Evidence from Individual Development Accounts

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Author Info
Mark Schreiner (Washington University in St. Louis)

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Abstract

How do people respond to matched-savings incentives? Studies of 401(k) plans find that matching increases participation but that higher match rates do not increase--and may decrease--the level of savings. This paper analyzes saving by low-income people in Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), a new savings incentive that matches withdrawals if used for home purchase, post-secondary education, or self-employment. The model controls for several sources of bias common in estimates of match-rate effects: unobserved heterogeneity among firms and among participants, censoring of savings at the match cap, and an inverse relationship between match rates and match caps. In IDAs, higher match rates are associated with an increased probability of continued participation but also with a decreased level of savings.

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File URL: http://129.3.20.41/eps/mic/papers/0108/0108003.pdf
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by EconWPA in its series Microeconomics with number 0108003.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length: 65 pages
Date of creation: 02 Sep 2001
Date of revision: 27 Dec 2001
Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpmi:0108003

Note: Type of Document - Adobe Acrobat 3.0; prepared on Windows 98; to print on Adobe Acrobat 3.0; pages: 65 ; figures: Included in pdf file
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Web page: http://129.3.20.41

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Related research
Keywords: Savings incentives; asset accumulation; match rates; retirement; income effect; substitution effect;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
D91 - Microeconomics - - Intertemporal Choice and Growth - - - Intertemporal Consumer Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving
H43 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Project Evaluation; Social Discount Rate
I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

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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. James M. Poterba & Steven F. Venti & David A. Wise, 1995. "401(k) Plans and Tax-Deferred Saving," NBER Working Papers 4181, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Leslie E. Papke, 1995. "Participation in and Contributions to 401(k) Pension Plans: Evidence om Plan Data," NBER Working Papers 4199, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Hubbard, R Glenn & Skinner, Jonathan S, 1996. "Assessing the Effectiveness of Saving Incentives," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 10(4), pages 73-90, Fall. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Alicia H. Munnell & Annika SundÈn & Catherine Taylor, 2002. "What Determines 401(k) Participation And Contributions?," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College 2000-12, Center for Retirement Research. [Downloadable!]
  5. Moffitt, Robert, 1990. "The Econometrics of Kinked Budget Constraints," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 4(2), pages 119-39, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Shlomo Maital, 1986. "Prometheus Rebound: On Welfare-Improving Constraints," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 12(3), pages 337-344, Jul-Sep. [Downloadable!]
  7. William F. Bassett & Michael J. Fleming & Anthony P. Rodrigues, 1998. "How workers use 401(k) plans: the participation, contribution, and withdrawal decisions," Staff Reports 38, Federal Reserve Bank of New York. [Downloadable!]
  8. Patrick J. Bayer & B. Douglas Bernheim & John Karl Scholz, 1996. "The Effects of Financial Education in the Workplace: Evidence from a Survey of Employers," NBER Working Papers 5655, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Deaton, A. & Grosh, M., 1998. "Consumption," Papers 191, Princeton, Woodrow Wilson School - Development Studies.
  10. William E. Even & David A. Macpherson, 2004. "Determinants and Effects of Employer Matching Contributions in 401(k) Plans," Labor and Demography 0405001, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  11. Thaler, Richard H, 1994. "Psychology and Savings Policies," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 186-92, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. B. Douglas Bernheim, 1999. "Taxation and Saving," Working Papers 99007, Stanford University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  13. Eric M. Engen & William G. Gale, 2000. "The Effects of 401(k) Plans on Household Wealth: Differences Across Earnings Groups," NBER Working Papers 8032, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Engelhardt, Gary V, 1996. "Tax Subsidies and Household Saving: Evidence from Canada," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 111(4), pages 1237-68, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Beverly, Sondra G. & Sherraden, Michael, 1999. "Institutional determinants of saving: implications for low-income households and public policy," The Journal of Socio-Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 457-473. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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