Highlights from the 2008 Future of Life-Cycle Saving and Investing conference

Economists have been studying consumers’ optimal saving and investing decisions for many decades. In the past two decades, research in behavioral economics and finance has considerably advanced our understanding of how consumers actually make saving and investment decisions. Life-cycle saving and investing have become a science, or at least the foundations have been laid for such a science.

The Future of Life-Cycle Saving and Investing conference brought together academic researchers, practitioners, and public-sector policymakers to discuss the current state of this science and to explore its implications for households, businesses, and government.