Household Finance

The department Household Finance conducts research on the financial decisions of private households and the interplay between the supply of and the demand for financial services. The research projects in this area are united by the overarching goal of developing solutions that lead to better financial decisions by households. In addition to the microeconomic perspective, the department also follows a macroeconomic perspective, for example concerning the design of pension systems as a determinant of both the depth and width of capital markets and long-term wealth formation in the household sector of an economy.

For example, Christine Laudenbach and her team address gender differences in wealth accumulation in the project "The Gender Wealth Gap: Participation in Financial Markets," which is funded by the Leibniz Programme for Women Professors. This research interest is also reflected in practice: SAFE, together with LawFin, organized a panel discussion after the 3rd Women in Law and Finance Workshop on 22 May 2023 to solve the question how to alleviate obstacles for women in reaching the top. More on the panel can be found here.

Additionally, young researchers present their work on current topic at the annual Household Finance Workshop. This year, it was held from 13 to 14 July 2023 at Schmerlenbach Monastery with a keynote speech by Florian Zimmermann (briq and University of Bonn).