Journal of Family and Economic Issues

, Volume 37, Issue 1, pp 18–28 | Cite as

Does Self-control Predict Wealth Creation Among Young Baby Boomers?

Original Paper
First Online:

Abstract

Why similar people have different patterns of wealth accumulation is puzzling. The behavioral life-cycle hypothesis indicates self-control is an important aspect of household saving behavior. This study investigated if household wealth creation from 1994 to 2008 could be predicted by self-control among a sample of young baby boomers using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) data. Variables that significantly predicted 2008 net worth included homeownership, 1994 net worth, income, bankruptcy filing, inheritance, education level, race, marital status, children, retirement planning activities, locus of control, and self-mastery. The addition of self-control predictors to a regression model improved the model’s ability to predict net worth by 1.3 % above and beyond the human capital, financial status, and demographic predictor variables. In total, the model explained 60 % of the variance in net worth. Findings indicated that individuals who invested in their human capital, were homeowners, and had higher self-control, accumulated more wealth.

Keywords

Behavioral life-cycle Self-control Wealth Baby boomers 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.University of the Incarnate Word, H-E-B School of BusinessSan AntonioUSA
  2. 2.School of Family Studies and Human Services, College of Human EcologyKansas State UniversityManhattanUSA

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