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This paper finds households with children and elderly dependents, the "Sandwich Generation," significantly reduce both college savings and stockholding. Having any elderly dependents decreases the probability of both stockholding and college savings by twice as much as poor personal health. Hence, these results have critical implications as they demonstrate the importance and magnitude of links between the pension system, college financial aid, and wealth accumulation. Elderly dependents limiting parental funds for offspring education can decrease offspring long-term earnings potential via decreased human capital accumulation. Furthermore, decreased stock holdings can decrease long-term wealth accumulation and thus intergenerational wealth transfers.

This paper analyzes the 529 College Savings Plan market using a plan level panel data set covering the years 2002–2006. The results show evidence of limited market competition and a positive relationship between state tax benefits and 529 plan fees. A $100 increase in potential taxable income benefit from investing in a 529 plan is associated with a 3–6 basis point increase in investment management fees for direct‐sold 529 College Savings Plans. This suggests that government policies designed to make college more affordable could enable investment firms to charge excess fees. (JEL G11, H24, I22)

Key Features:Highlights innovative institutions and strategies of improving access to capital and biotechnology for the poor, with a special focus on AfricaAddresses the global problem of poverty and economic development, and the role the market and technology can play in providing solutions to the problemIncludes contributions from leading academics and practitioners in the field.

We analyze how children with mental disabilities influence parental portfolio allocation. We find that risky asset holding decreases among households with special needs children. However, conditional on participating in financial markets, households with special needs children invest a larger portion of their wealth in risky assets. As risky asset holding is a key component of wealth building, these findings have important implications for both policy and household wealth inequality.

Traditional economic theories assume that individuals are endowed with certain risk preferences that are unaltered by experiences. However, recent evidence indicates that macroeconomic shocks do have an effect on an individual's willingness to take financial risks. In the context of investment decisions, we examine empirically whether an individual's risk preferences are affected by other types of traumatic life experiences. Using a unique proprietary data set, we investigate whether personal traumatic experiences—such as the combat experiences of veterans—have long‐term effects on financial risk‐taking behavior. We find that having experienced combat decreases the probability of investing in risky assets. Key policy implications are noted. (JEL G11, D14)