INVITATION
The WU Gutmann Center cordially invites you to the forthcoming
WU GUTMANN CENTER PUBLIC LECTURE
www.gutmann-center.at
(apologies for duplicated mails!)
DATE: DECEMBER 15 (Thursday), 2011 - 4:00 pm
Location: Bank Gutmann AG, Schwarzenbergplatz 16, 1010 Wien
SPEAKER: Prof. Dr. JEFFREY R. BROWN, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
http://business.illinois.edu/jbrown/
Title: BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF INSURING LIFETIME INCOME
ABSTRACT:
Economists have long been puzzled by why so few individuals choose to take steps to ensure
that they will have guaranteed income for life. After many decades of research having
failed to provide a robust answer to this "annuity puzzle," psychologists and
behavioral economists have begun to explore alternative explanations for consumers'
aversion to annuities and other lifetime income products. This emerging literature
suggests that individuals' observed reluctance to insure length-of-life risks is not
fully rational. This talk will discuss some "non-rational" explanations for
retiree behavior, including the role of complexity, poor financial literacy, sensitivity
to framing, the role of default options, and "rules of thumb" that consumers
follow when making decisions about lifetime income. The discussion will also focus on the
implications of these findings for private markets and public policy responses.
ABOUT JEFFREY R. BROWN:
Jeffrey R. Brown is the William Karnes Professor of Finance in the College of Business at
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also serves as Director of the College
of Business' Center on Business and Public Policy, and as Associate Director of the
NBER Retirement Research Center. Prior to joining the Illinois faculty, Dr. Brown was an
assistant professor of public policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of
Government. During 2001-2002, he served as Senior Economist at the White House Council of
Economic Advisers, where he focused primarily on Social Security, pension reform, and
terrorism risk insurance. During 2001 he also served on the staff of the President's
Commission to Strengthen Social Security. In 2006, President Bush nominated, and the
Senate confirmed, Dr. Brown as a member of the Social Security Advisory Board. Professor
Brown holds a Ph.D. in economics from MIT.
Professor Brown has published extensively on public and private insurance markets,
including publications in top economic and finance journals and numerous books. He is the
recipient of numerous research awards including the TIAA CREF Paul A. Samuelson Award for
Outstanding Scholarly Writing on Lifelong Financial Security. Professor Brown is a
co-founder and co-editor of the Journal of Pension Economics and Finance. He has also
served as a consultant, expert witness, or expert panelist for the Executive Office of the
President, the U.S. General Accounting Office, the U.S. Treasury, and the World Bank.
Please REGISTER:
Mail: gutmann-center(a)wu.ac.at
Phone: +43-1-31336-4244
CONTACT AND FURTHER INFORMATION:
WU Gutmann Center for Portfolio Management
WU (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien) - Department of Finance, Accounting and Statistics
Mag. Dorothea GRIMM
www.gutmann-center.at