Developing alternative financial education programs to improve financial well-being: Households often face significant challenges in managing their finances. Many lack sufficient precautionary savings to cope with negative income shocks, and stock market participation remains puzzlingly low. Additionally, many households struggle with overborrowing and managing credit card debt. Hakan’s research focuses on understanding the mechanisms behind these suboptimal financial behaviors, particularly among indebted and unbanked households.
Hakan investigates the information gaps in individuals' understanding of key financial concepts and draws on insights from psychology to explore why suboptimal decision-making persists even when relevant information is available. Through his work, Hakan aims to design and implement alternative financial education programs that address information gaps and behavioral biases to study what makes financial education effective in improving financial well-being.
Hakan Ozyilmaz joins Stanford Impact Labs as a postdoctoral fellow from 2024-2025.