Financial decisions over the life cycle (C01)

• Subject Area: Economic Policy, Applied Economics
• Term: since 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 326731373

This project offers a novel perspective on financial decision-making across the life cycle by integrating non-standard elements of behavior and cognition. These elements range from attention, expectations, and ambiguity to the influence of peer effects and social norms. We are able to do so because we have unique, self-collected data matched with large-scale administrative records at our disposal. We analyze these data using experimental, quasi-experimental, and structural methods. Our research spans policy-relevant decisions at different life stages, from parental investments in children’s human capital to labor supply and asset market choices in mid-life, and to retirement and long-term care in old age.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 224: Economic Perspectives on Societal Challenges: Equality of Opportunity, Market Regulation, and Financial Stability
• Applicant Institution: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Hans-Martin von Gaudecker; Professorin Dr. Zwetelina Iliewa, since 1/2026; Professorin Katja Maria Kaufmann, Ph.D.