IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecanpo/v64y2019icp194-220.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The importance of personality characteristics and behavioral constraints for retirement saving

Author

Listed:
  • Piotrowska, Maria

Abstract

The paper explores the retirement saving habits of well-educated Poles of mobile working age. The data on personality characteristics as well as behavioral constraints include personality traits, procrastination, locus of control, pessimism, compulsive buying, and time perspective. The purpose of the paper is to reveal personality characteristics and behavioral constraints that could be relevant in explaining retirement saving, estimating the money needed for retirement and having a plan for retirement saving. The research uses relative weight analysis and mediation analysis. The findings show that procrastination influences the decision about whether to save for retirement, even if income is included as a control. This suggests that the procrastination problem makes saving for retirement difficult regardless of income. Procrastination is also a significant mediator through which personality characteristics and time perspectives influence retirement saving. Compulsive buying affects retirement saving through two mechanisms, one based on the idea that money is a symbol of power and prestige, and another one which produces feelings of guilt. Locus of control and future-time orientation are significant in explaining the decision to plan for retirement. Pessimism influences retirement saving actions both negatively and positively, depending on how this influence is transmitted. The findings show various effects of personality and behavior on saving, which can be used in designing savings and pension schemes.

Suggested Citation

  • Piotrowska, Maria, 2019. "The importance of personality characteristics and behavioral constraints for retirement saving," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 194-220.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:64:y:2019:i:c:p:194-220
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2019.09.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0313592618303990
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eap.2019.09.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rawley Z. Heimer & Kristian Ove R. Myrseth & Raphael S. Schoenle, 2019. "YOLO: Mortality Beliefs and Household Finance Puzzles," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 74(6), pages 2957-2996, December.
    2. Cormac O'Dea & David Sturrock, 2019. "Survival pessimism and the demand for annuities," IFS Working Papers W19/02, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    3. Banks, James & Blundell, Richard & Tanner, Sarah, 1998. "Is There a Retirement-Savings Puzzle?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(4), pages 769-788, September.
    4. Hoch, Stephen J & Loewenstein, George F, 1991. "Time-Inconsistent Preferences and Consumer Self-Control," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 17(4), pages 492-507, March.
    5. Eduardo Cavallo & Tomás Serebrisky, 2016. "Saving for a Sunny Day," IDB Publications (Book Chapters), in: Eduardo Cavallo & Tomás Serebrisky (ed.), SAVING FOR DEVELOPMENT: How Latin America and the Caribbean Can Save More and Better, edition 1, chapter 1, pages 1-20, Inter-American Development Bank.
    6. Thaler, Richard H & Shefrin, H M, 1981. "An Economic Theory of Self-Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(2), pages 392-406, April.
    7. Goda, Gopi Shah & Manchester, Colleen Flaherty & Sojourner, Aaron J., 2014. "What will my account really be worth? Experimental evidence on how retirement income projections affect saving," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 80-92.
    8. John Ameriks & Andrew Caplin & John Leahy, 2003. "Wealth Accumulation and the Propensity to Plan," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(3), pages 1007-1047.
    9. Kukar-Kinney, Monika & Ridgway, Nancy M. & Monroe, Kent B., 2012. "The Role of Price in the Behavior and Purchase Decisions of Compulsive Buyers," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 63-71.
    10. Ricardo Bebczuk & Eduardo Cavallo, 2016. "Is business saving really none of our business?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(24), pages 2266-2284, May.
    11. Alessandra Guariglia, 2001. "Saving behaviour and earnings uncertainty: Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 14(4), pages 619-634.
    12. Rindfleisch, Aric & Burroughs, James E & Denton, Frank, 1997. "Family Structure, Materialism, and Compulsive Consumption," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 23(4), pages 312-325, March.
    13. Marco Caliendo & Frank Fossen & Alexander Kritikos, 2014. "Personality characteristics and the decisions to become and stay self-employed," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 787-814, April.
    14. Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Kassenboehmer, Sonja C. & Sinning, Mathias G., 2016. "Locus of control and savings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 113-130.
    15. Akerlof, George A, 1991. "Procrastination and Obedience," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(2), pages 1-19, May.
    16. Heckman, James J., 2011. "Integrating Personality Psychology into Economics," IZA Discussion Papers 5950, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Bassett, William F. & Fleming, Michael J. & Rodrigues, Anthony P., 1998. "How Workers Use 401(K) Plans: The Participation, Contribution, and Withdrawal Decisions," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 51(2), pages 263-289, June.
    18. Dusanee Kesavayuth & Robert E. Rosenman & Vasileios Zikos, 2016. "Retirement, Personality, And Well-Being," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(2), pages 733-750, April.
    19. O'Guinn, Thomas C & Faber, Ronald J, 1989. "Compulsive Buying: A Phenomenological Exploration," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 16(2), pages 147-157, September.
    20. Andrew Powell & Eduardo Cavallo, 2016. "Financial Systems to Make Savings Count," IDB Publications (Book Chapters), in: Eduardo Cavallo & Tomás Serebrisky (ed.), SAVING FOR DEVELOPMENT: How Latin America and the Caribbean Can Save More and Better, edition 1, chapter 3, pages 45-73, Inter-American Development Bank.
    21. Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan & David Weil, 2010. "Mortality change, the uncertainty effect, and retirement," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 65-91, March.
    22. Annamaria Lusardi, 2010. "Financial Capability in the United States: Consumer Decision-Making and the Role of Social Security," Working Papers wp226, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    23. Almlund, Mathilde & Duckworth, Angela Lee & Heckman, James & Kautz, Tim, 2011. "Personality Psychology and Economics," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 0, pages 1-181, Elsevier.
    24. John Beshears & James J. Choi & David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian, 2009. "The Importance of Default Options for Retirement Saving Outcomes: Evidence from the United States," NBER Chapters, in: Social Security Policy in a Changing Environment, pages 167-195, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    25. Bridges, Eileen & Florsheim, Renée, 2008. "Hedonic and utilitarian shopping goals: The online experience," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(4), pages 309-314, April.
    26. Eduardo Fernández-Arias & Eduardo Cavallo & Matías Marzani, 2016. "Saving for Stability," IDB Publications (Book Chapters), in: Eduardo Cavallo & Tomás Serebrisky (ed.), SAVING FOR DEVELOPMENT: How Latin America and the Caribbean Can Save More and Better, edition 1, chapter 5, pages 109-130, Inter-American Development Bank.
    27. Achtziger, Anja & Hubert, Marco & Kenning, Peter & Raab, Gerhard & Reisch, Lucia, 2015. "Debt out of control: The links between self-control, compulsive buying, and real debts," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 141-149.
    28. Brown, Sarah & Taylor, Karl, 2014. "Household finances and the ‘Big Five’ personality traits," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 197-212.
    29. S. Chatterjee & M. Finke & N. Harness, 2011. "The impact of self-efficacy on wealth accumulation and portfolio choice," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(7), pages 627-631.
    30. Demirguc-Kunt,Asli & Klapper,Leora & Panos,Georgios A., 2016. "Saving for old age," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7693, The World Bank.
    31. Hanley, Alice & Wilhelm, Mari S., 1992. "Compulsive buying: An exploration into self-esteem and money attitudes," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 5-18, March.
    32. Faber, Ronald J & O'Guinn, Thomas C, 1992. "A Clinical Screener for Compulsive Buying," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 19(3), pages 459-469, December.
    33. Greninger, Sue Alexander & Hampton, Vickie L. & Kitt, Karrol A. & Jacquet, Susan, 2000. "Retirement planning guidelines: a Delphi study of financial planners and educators," Financial Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 231-245, 00.
    34. Rodriguez-Palenzuela, Diego & Dées, Stéphane & Andersson, Malin & Bijsterbosch, Martin & Forster, Katrin & Zorell, Nico & Audoly, Richard & Buelens, Christian & Compeyron, Guillaume & Ferrando, Annali, 2016. "Savings and investment behaviour in the euro area," Occasional Paper Series 167, European Central Bank.
    35. Ming-Ming Lai & Ming-Ling Lai & Siok-Hwa Lau, 2009. "Managing money and retirement planning: Academics' perspectives," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 14(4), pages 282-292.
    36. Angus Deaton, 2005. "Franco Modigliani and the life-cycle theory of consumption," BNL Quarterly Review, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, vol. 58(233-234), pages 91-107.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dawid Dawidowicz & Joanna Hernik & Elzbieta Jaworska, 2022. "Why Women Do not Save for Retirement – In search of Determinants of Saving Procrastination, against the Background of Changes in Pension Systems," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3), pages 337-356.
    2. Vieira, Kelmara Mendes & Rosenblum, Tamara Otilia Amaral & Matheis, Taiane Keila, 2022. "And tomorrow, how will it be? Developing a Financial Preparation for Retirement Scale (FPRS)," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Kassenboehmer, Sonja C. & Sinning, Mathias G., 2016. "Locus of control and savings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 113-130.
    2. Ayaz Ali & Chen Li & Ashfaque Hussain & Bakhtawar, 2024. "Hedonic Shopping Motivations and Obsessive–Compulsive Buying on the Internet," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 25(1), pages 198-215, February.
    3. Horváth, Csilla & Adıgüzel, Feray, 2018. "Shopping enjoyment to the extreme: Hedonic shopping motivations and compulsive buying in developed and emerging markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 300-310.
    4. Brown, Sarah & Taylor, Karl, 2014. "Household finances and the ‘Big Five’ personality traits," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 197-212.
    5. Darrat, Aadel A. & Darrat, Mahmoud A. & Amyx, Douglas, 2016. "How impulse buying influences compulsive buying: The central role of consumer anxiety and escapism," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 103-108.
    6. Kesavayuth, Dusanee & Ko, Kaung Myat & Zikos, Vasileios, 2018. "Locus of control and financial risk attitudes," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 122-131.
    7. Manolis, Chris & Roberts, James A., 2008. "Compulsive buying: Does it matter how it's measured?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 555-576, August.
    8. Deborah Cobb-Clark, 2015. "Locus of control and the labor market," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-19, December.
    9. Bas Verplanken & Ayana Sato, 2011. "The Psychology of Impulse Buying: An Integrative Self-Regulation Approach," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 197-210, June.
    10. Japutra, Arnold & Ekinci, Yuksel & Simkin, Lyndon, 2019. "Self-congruence, brand attachment and compulsive buying," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 456-463.
    11. Luik, Marc-André & Steinhardt, Max Friedrich, 2016. "Immigrant-native differences in stockholding – The role of cognitive and non-cognitive skills," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(PA), pages 103-119.
    12. Mangiavacchi Lucia & Piccoli Luca & Rapallini Chiara, 2021. "Personality Traits and Household Consumption Choices," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 21(2), pages 433-468, April.
    13. Ayadi, Nawel & Giraud, Magali & Gonzalez, Christine, 2013. "An investigation of consumers' self-control mechanisms when confronted with repeated purchase temptations: Evidence from online private sales," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 272-281.
    14. Mariya Davydenko & Marta Kolbuszewska & Johanna Peetz, 2021. "A meta-analysis of financial self-control strategies: Comparing empirical findings with online media and lay person perspectives on what helps individuals curb spending and start saving," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(7), pages 1-25, July.
    15. Julie Sneath & Russell Lacey & Pamela Kennett-Hensel, 2009. "Coping with a natural disaster: Losses, emotions, and impulsive and compulsive buying," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 45-60, March.
    16. Mrad, Mona & Cui, Charles Chi, 2020. "Comorbidity of compulsive buying and brand addiction: An examination of two types of addictive consumption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 399-408.
    17. Boyce, Christopher & Czajkowski, Mikołaj & Hanley, Nick, 2019. "Personality and economic choices," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 82-100.
    18. Deborah A. Cobb-Clark & Sonja C. Kassenboehmer & Mathias G. Sinning, 2013. "Locus of Control and Savings," Ruhr Economic Papers 0455, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    19. Firth, Chris & Stewart, Neil & Antoniou, Constantinos & Leake, David, 2023. "The effects of personality and IQ on portfolio outcomes," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    20. Annamaria Lusardi, 2000. "Explaining Why So Many Households Do Not Save," Working Papers 0001, Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Retirement saving; Personal traits; Procrastination; Locus of control; Time perspective;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G41 - Financial Economics - - Behavioral Finance - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making in Financial Markets

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:64:y:2019:i:c:p:194-220. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/economic-analysis-and-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.