Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

In Equations We Trust? Formula Learning Effects On The Exponential Growth Bias, Bryan Foltice, Thomas Langer

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

This paper evaluates the possible benefits and drawbacks of the formal formula learning of compound growth as it pertains to eliminating, or at least reducing, the exponential growth bias in various household savings and debt decisions. In our main experimental study, we determine if the ability to calculate the simple compound savings formula only assists in its direct area of application with an available calculator, or if this knowledge extends into similar exponentially-based savings and debt decisions when either a calculator is prohibited or when the formula is unknown. In the process of tackling this research question, we develop a …