Russell N. James

The Nature and Causes of the U-Shaped Charitable Giving Profile

The U-shaped income-giving profile, where those in the lower and higher income brackets give higher percentages of their income to charity, has been the subject of much dispute. Examining data from 16,442 households, the authors find clear evidence of a U-shaped relationship. Previous findings contradicting the U-shaped profile are shown to suffer from selection bias that systematically deflates reported lower-income giving levels. Although the U-shaped profile is an appropriate descriptor, it does not reflect typical household behavior. Instead, it is driven almost entirely by the 5% of households that contribute one tenth or more of their after-tax income. Traditionally, the presence of so many highly committed, low-income households has been attributed to religious sect affiliation by the poor. The authors find an additional explanation in that these highly committed, lower-income households are dramatically wealthier than other members of their income classification, in part reflecting the presence of lower-income, higher-asset, retirement-aged households.

Health, Wealth, and Charitable Estate Planning A Longitudinal Examination of Testamentary Charitable Giving Plans

Anticipated generational wealth transfers hold much potential for nonprofits. However, a weighted cross-sectional analysis of 18,469 respondents in the 2006 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and data from respondents dying between the 2004 and 2006 HRS waves indicated that 88% to 90.5% of donors (>

Sources of Discontent Residential Satisfaction of Tenants From an Internet Ratings Site

500/year) more than the age of 50 will die without a charitable bequest. Cross-sectional probit analysis of the 2006 HRS and longitudinal conditional fixed-effects logistic analysis of the 1995-2006 HRS indicated that charitable estate planning was positively associated with age, wealth, education, religious attendance, volunteering, charitable giving, and the absence of children or grandchildren. In all specifications, the absence of children was a dominant predictor of charitable estate planning.

Tenant time preference as a barrier to homeownership

This article presents the first systematic analysis of residential satisfaction ratings from the largest consumer comment Web site for U.S. apartment residents, www.ApartmentRatings.com. Using the 464,281 tenant satisfaction ratings posted from January 1, 2000, to January 1, 2007, we examine the relative importance of seven core factors in determining tenant satisfaction: parking, noise level, landscaping, safety, building construction, office staff, and maintenance service. Cross tabulation, ordered logit, probit, and path analysis models all point to tenant relations with management office staff as the most influential factor in tenant satisfaction. The fact that the manager—tenant relationship exists for tenants but not for homeowners may help to explain why the gap in residential satisfaction between owners and renters persists even when controlling for other physical environmental characteristics.

Home Sweet Apartment: A Text Analysis of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction with Apartment Homes

Many US government programs focus on reducing the financial barriers to homeownership. This paper uncovers evidence of an additional barrier – high time discounting by renters. Results from cumulative logistic and ordinary least squares models of 4228 households participating in the 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances indicate that renters self-report a significantly shorter financial planning time-horizon than owners do. Additionally, a tobit analysis reveals that renters tend to choose short-term, low-return investments when they save. A probit analysis of 14 743 household observations in the 2003–2004 Consumer Expenditure Survey reveals a significantly higher probability for consumption of tobacco by renters-a choice frequently associated with high time discounting due to negative long-term health effects. Each of these results is consistent with high time discounting by renters. Such discounting of future consequences can impede the transition to homeownership, which often requires delaying current consumption in exchange for future benefit.

Why are the oldest old less generous? Explanations for the unexpected age-related drop in charitable giving

Abstract Achieving renter satisfaction is critical for residential property managers who desire to reduce the costs of high turnover. While previous research on renter satisfaction has focused on the use of multiple-choice surveys, this study analyzed the text of 464,280 open-ended comments posted from January 1, 2000, to January 1, 2007, on ApartmentRatings.com©, the nation’s largest apartment ratings Web site. Cross-tabulation and ordered logistic analysis of a word frequency coding scheme indicated that several of the most important issues related to residential satisfaction fell into the categories of safety and sanitation. While safety has long been recognized as a critical component of residential satisfaction, issues of sanitation appear uniquely salient for residents of rented apartment housing. The implication for property managers is that a focus on the core issues revealed in this analysis of resident comments may help to achieve greater resident satisfaction and, thereby, reduce resident turnover.

Applying Neuroscience to Financial Planning Practice: A Framework and Review

ABSTRACT Previous research has demonstrated that the generally positive relationship between age and the presence of charitable giving becomes negative at the oldest ages. We investigate potential causes of this drop in charitable giving among the oldest old including changes in health, cognition, egocentric networks, religious attendance, and substitution of charitable bequest planning. A longitudinal analysis of data from the United States Health and Retirement Survey indicates that the drop in charitable giving is mediated largely by changes in the frequency of church attendance, with only modest influences from changes in health and cognition.

Housing Dissatisfaction and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults

This paper presents findings from neuroscience, neuro-finance, neuro-economics, behavioral finance, and behavioral economics in the context of a two-system model of human decision-making, labeled as the “rider” and the “elephant”. The rational “rider” system is characterized by overconfidence and deficiencies in speed and endurance. The emotional “elephant” system is characterized by time preference myopia, emotional marker processing, and loss aversion. Application of this neural model of financial decision-making results in a variety of effective and practical suggestions for financial planners.

The Myth of the Coming Charitable Estate Windfall

Analysis of a nationally representative, longitudinal survey of community-dwelling Americans older than 50 years of age indicated that rating the physical condition of ones dwelling unit as “poor” predicted significantly more rapid cognitive decline in subsequent years. This relationship persisted after controlling for a variety of factors such as wealth, income, education, health, family status, neighborhood safety, depression, and initial cognitive ability. Dissatisfaction with the physical conditions of ones housing may have a direct effect on the rate of cognitive decline in older adults. Addressing housing inadequacy for older adults may thus produce a wider range of societal benefits than previously realized.

Examining the Connection Between Housing Counseling Practices and Long-Term Housing and Neighborhood Satisfaction

Media accounts, fund-raising periodicals, and some academic research have pointed to a coming windfall of charitable estate transfers driven by the graying of the population. Nonprofit managers and public agencies working with nonprofits or their beneficiaries may incorporate these expectations into their long-range planning. This article presents the first comparison of estate gifts (for both taxable and nontaxable estates) with the previous annual giving and volunteering of the deceased. An analysis of approximately 6,000 deceased panel members from the 1995—2006 Health and Retirement Study suggests that estate gifts are largely offset by the loss of current giving and volunteering previously provided by the deceased donors. Consequently, nonprofit managers who plan based on anticipated future charitable giving estate windfalls may make erroneous choices.