Journal of Consumer Affairs最新文献

Using data from the 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2021 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), this paper investigates the effect of public expenditures on household investment in risky financial assets. Our findings show that a higher level of public expenditures significantly increases household investment in stocks and other risky financial assets and that the respondent's overconfidence in their financial well-being partially mediates such an effect. We further provide evidence that the influence of public expenditures on household investment behavior in risky financial assets is robust after considering various sample heterogeneities by disaggregating public expenditures and risky financial assets into different subcategories and dividing households into different age and socioeconomic groups.

Drawing on incentive sensitization theory, our study focuses on loneliness coping as a goal pursuit or hedonic searching process through consumption of probabilistic goods. We propose that loneliness triggers liking (hedonic feelings) and wanting (desired outcomes), which lead to the repurchase intention of probabilistic goods. We adopt an interview study (N = 20) to explore facets of loneliness, clarifying how customers obtain hedonic feelings and desired outcomes from repurchasing. Follow-up quantitative studies including an experiment (N = 212) and a survey (N = 575) are employed to validate the differences among facets of loneliness and test the hypothesis. The findings show that liking and wanting mediate the effects of psychological loneliness and emotional loneliness on repurchase intention with respect to probabilistic goods. Furthermore, the results also suggest that perceived loss of control strengthens the effects of loneliness on wanting rather than liking.

Many scholars have examined how people implement principles of mindfulness in their day-to-day consumption activities. Because buying in most cases precedes consumption, the present research builds a model of antecedents of mindful buying. Based on multi-theoretical perspectives, the model posits four key variables as antecedents of mindful buying: environmental activism (self-concept theory and collective interest model), duration of concern about the environment (life course perspective), and media and personal sources as socialization agents. The model proposes that these antecedent variables would have direct effects on mindful buying as well as indirect effect through attitudes toward the environment. The model also posits positive health outcomes of mindful buying. Using a demographically diverse sample (N = 629, females = 51.7%), regression models were used to test for direct and indirect effects of antecedent variables on mindful buying. Findings of these analyzes find support for the model. Implications for theory development, public policy and practice are also discussed.

Financial literacy is highly correlated to long-term positive economic outcomes. Research examining the financial literacy of autistic adults is virtually nonexistent which is concerning given the implications of financial decision-making for quality of life. This study assessed conceptual understanding and financial behaviors of autistic adults compared with a matched group of nonautistic adults. An online questionnaire assessed income, use of financial tools, feelings toward finances, use of financial literacy programs, financial knowledge, and preference for receiving financial education. The findings indicated that autistic adults showed lower financial literacy and greater uncertainty around many financial issues. They were less confident in their financial knowledge and ability to deal with daily financial matters. The autistic group showed less liking for some specific learning tools for receiving financial education. Our findings inform efforts to design specific curricula to improve the financial knowledge and understanding of autistic and other neurodiverse populations.

Survey protocols measuring financial knowledge typically offer a don't know (DK) response option along with factual statements about personal finance. The potential problem of this practice is that a DK response could capture something other than financial knowledge and mislead empirical research on the association between financial knowledge and behavioral outcomes. In this study, we examined whether the current scales are contaminated by systemic personality effects and how reduced validity influences analytical modeling of the knowledge effect. Two studies with different national datasets were conducted in this investigation. Study 1 found that personality types and emotions are partially correlated with the propensity to give a DK response. Study 2 showed that controlling for DK response options alters the association between financial knowledge and behaviors in regression analyses. Our findings suggest that a DK response reduces construct validity of the financial knowledge score.

This mixed-methods study examines consumer perspectives on the credit scoring system drawn from in-depth interviews with 72 mothers with low incomes and national survey data from the National Financial Capability Study. Interviewees express strong awareness of credit scoring and a desire to have good credit. National survey data corroborate these findings, showing that most mothers with low incomes are knowledgeable about their credit scores. They know what behaviors improve credit standing and recognize the tradeoffs between present consumption and longer run goals. They do not reject the credit scoring system's legitimacy and seek to work within this system to pursue their financial goals, despite obstacles to success. This evidence enriches our understanding of the perspectives and values that motivate consumer financial behaviors and highlights the systemic challenges to people's financial well-being that are embedded in a seemingly widely accepted credit scoring system.

Roger M. Swagler died on August 8, 2023. Dr. Swagler was, until his retirement from the University of Georgia, a devoted member of the American Council on Consumer Interests (ACCI). He attended annual conferences on a regular basis and thrived on discussions of the topics presented there. With his co-authors John Burton and Joan Koonce, he received ACCI's Russell A. Dixon award in 1996 for their article in Advancing the Consumer Interest, a now-defunct ACCI publication. They were recognized for their work on the Alternative Financial Services sector, and were among the first to explore research questions related to this sector.

Dr. Swagler's academic career began at Drake University. He also taught at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville before moving to the University of Georgia, from which he retired in 2005. He taught at the University of Liberia as part of the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Later academic excursions were to Burkina Faso, India, and Lesotho.

After retirement, Dr. Swagler was an active volunteer in the Athens, Georgia community. He worked at The Ark, which provides a financial safety net for area residents who lose employment or have unexpected medical or auto expenses that put them in danger of losing housing and/or utilities. He also supported the efforts of the Athens Area Community Foundation and the WUGA (local public radio) Community Advisory Council. He served on the Vestry at St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church where he and his wife were members.

Dr. Swagler was the author of Caveat Emptor! An introductory analysis of consumer problems, a popular textbook for consumer economics courses. In a 2002 review of the book, Thomas J. Leary wrote that the book was “packed with good sense, sound values and interesting information….and sprinkled with gentle wit.” Roger's UGA colleagues would, no doubt, agree that Dr. Leary could have been describing Roger himself.

Dr. Swagler is survived by his wife of 38 years, Julia Marlowe Swagler, who also was an active member of ACCI and served as the organization's president. Other survivors include his sister, five children, a nephew, and six grandchildren.

Using a stress process theoretical framework, this article examines the relationship between financial debts and the subjective well-being of young adults and the role of social and personal resources in the mechanism. The analyses include 2348 young adults from the 2017 Transition into Adulthood Supplement study of Panel Study of Income Dynamics, using the structural equation modeling method. We found that when faced with student loans as a stress exposure, young adults' social resources (financial support and social participation) and personal psychological resources (self-esteem) may act in different ways explaining life satisfaction and subjective well-being. Having student loans increased the likelihood of receiving financial support from family and social activity participation, while also boosting one's self-esteem. However, financial support as a social resource was negatively associated with young adults' life satisfaction and subjective well-being, whereas self-esteem as a personal resource was positively associated with life satisfaction and subjective well-being. Our study suggests that exploring the underlying mechanism of the association between debts and subjective well-being is necessary and crucial because the mediating roles of social and personal resources were important in determining young adults' subjective well-being. Further research should explore this topic, as recent young adults are more exposed to debt burdens than preceding cohorts.

This study examines how racial/ethnic discrimination influences financial access and material hardship, using survey data collected from self-identified Korean immigrants living in two counties in Alabama (N = 241). Key variables are experiencing racial/ethnic discrimination, two subjective measures of financial access, and four indicators of material hardship (overall, food-related, health insurance, and medical care). Descriptive analyses show a high rate of experiencing racial/ethnic discrimination, limited access to basic financial services and credit, and considerable rates of material hardship. Regression analyses indicate that experiencing discrimination has a significant association with access to credit but not with access to basic financial services. Access to credit has a significant and negative association with all types of material hardship. Our findings challenge the model minority myth of socially and economically integrated Asian/Korean immigrants. Results call for anti-discrimination policies and public efforts to expand financial access and reduce material hardship among Korean immigrants.