Poverty is associated with a wide range of counterproductive economic behaviors. Scarcity
theory proposes that poverty itself induces a scarcity mindset, which subsequently forces the …

The poor can and do save, but often use formal or informal instruments that have high risk,
high cost, and limited functionality. This could lead to undersaving compared to a world …

Many have argued that digital technologies such as smartphones and social media are
addictive. We develop an economic model of digital addiction and estimate it using a …

Intertemporal tradeoffs play a key role in many personal decisions and policy questions. We
describe models of intertemporal choice, identify empirical regularities in choice, and pose …

The research in Psychology and Economics (aka Behavioral Economics) suggests that
individuals deviate from the standard model in three respects:(1) nonstandard …

Some individuals borrow extensively on their credit cards. This paper tests whether present-
biased time preferences correlate with credit card borrowing. In a field study, we elicit …

We review the recent evidence on commitment devices and discuss how this evidence
relates to theoretical questions about the demand for, and effectiveness of, commitment …

We present a generally applicable theory of focusing based on the hypothesis that a person
focuses more on, and hence overweights, attributes in which her options differ more. Our …

Expanding access to commercial credit is a key ingredient of financial development
strategies. There is less consensus on whether expanding access to consumer credit helps …

We analyze contract choices, loan-repayment behavior, and welfare in a model of a
competitive credit market when borrowers have a taste for immediate gratification …