August 6–7, 2026 · Bozeman, Montana

Conference Program

Financial Decision-Making Conference · Montana State University

Montana Financial Decision Making Conference
August 6–7, 2026
Montana State University — Norm Asbjornson Hall 137 — Bozeman, MT
Organized by Annamaria Lusardi (Stanford), J. Anthony Cookson (Penn State), Carly Urban (Montana State), Ken Singleton (Stanford), Zhiguo He (Stanford), and Isil Erel (Ohio State)
Sponsored by Review of Asset Pricing Studies and Review of Corporate Finance Studies
Supported by the Stanford Institute for Financial Decision Making
Each paper: 20-minute presentation · 12-minute discussion · 18-minute Q&A (50 minutes total)
Wednesday, August 5, 2026
6:00 PM
Pre-Conference Happy Hour — Mountains Walking
Thursday, August 6, 2026
8:00 AM
Registration & Coffee
8:25 AM
Welcome Remarks
Session 1 — When Costs Go Down
Chair: J. Anthony Cookson, Penn State (Smeal)
8:30 AM
Learning How To Borrow in a Fintech World: Consumer Behavior When Search Costs Are (Near) Zero
Alex P. Günsberg and Camelia M. Kuhnen
University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) & NBER
Discussant: Francesco D'Acunto, Georgetown University (McDonough)
8:30 – 9:20
9:20 AM
The Economic Consequences of Lower Retail Trading Costs
Ching-Tse Chen and Ming-Jen Lin
Copenhagen Business School
Discussant: Daniel Weagley, University of Tennessee (Haslam)
9:20 – 10:10
10:10 AM
Coffee Break
Session 2 — Social Capital
Chair: Chris Stoddard, Montana State University
10:30 AM
Intergenerational Race-Based Trauma and Financial Market Participation
Vicki L. Bogan, Lisa A. Kramer, Chi Liao, and Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi
University of Toronto (Rotman)
Discussant: Constantine Yannelis, University of Cambridge
10:30 – 11:20
11:20 AM
The Effects of Organizational Trust on Investors' Expectations and Allocations
Michael J. Gropper, Julie Agnew, Angela Hung, Nicole Montgomery, and Susan Thorp
University of Colorado Boulder (Leeds)
Discussant: Noah Stoffman, Indiana University (Kelley)
11:20 – 12:10
12:10 PM
Lunch
Lunch Remarks
Annamaria Lusardi
Stanford University
"Improving Financial Literacy: From Corporate Finance to Personal Finance"
12:10 – 1:40 PM
Session 3 — Credit Access & Liquidity
Chair: Carly Urban, Montana State University
1:40 PM
Willingness to Pay for Liquidity: Evidence from an Interest-Free, Tip-Based Cash Advance Platform
Sumit Agarwal, Shashwat Alok, Yen Teik Lee, and Bhashkar Mazumder
Indian School of Business
Discussant: Paolina Medina, University of Houston (Bauer)
1:40 – 2:30
2:30 PM
Dual Credit Markets: Income Risk, Household Debt, and Consumption
David Matsa, Brian Melzer, and Michał Zator
Dartmouth College (Tuck)
Discussant: Avantika Pal, University of Illinois (Gies)
2:30 – 3:20
3:20 PM
Adjourn for Afternoon Hike — Upper Triple Tree (led by Carly Urban, Montana State University)
Evening
Conference Dinner — Copper, 6:00 PM
Friday, August 7, 2026
8:00 AM
Coffee
Session 4 — Credit Histories & Consumer Behavior
Chair: Zhiguo He, Stanford
8:30 AM
Nepo Credit: The Effect of Borrowed Credit Histories
Alex Butler, Alan Crane, Erik Mayer, and Asli Uyanik
Rice University
Discussant: Susan Cherry, University of Texas at Austin (McCombs)
8:30 – 9:20
9:20 AM
Targeting Higher Credit Card Payments
Benedict Guttman-Kenney
Rice University
Discussant: Sam Hirshman, Cornell University (Johnson)
9:20 – 10:10
10:10 AM
Coffee Break
Session 5 — Debt, Rates & Policy
Chair: Annamaria Lusardi, Stanford
10:30 AM
The Response of Debtors to Rate Changes
Andreas Fuster, Virginia Gianinazzi, Andreas Hackethal, Philip Schnorpfeil, and Michael Weber
Goethe University Frankfurt
Discussant: Christophe Spaenjers, University of Colorado Boulder (Leeds)
10:30 – 11:20
11:20 AM
Misperceptions and Ordeals in Consumer Bankruptcy
Samuel Antill, Eleanor Jenke, and Raymond Kluender
Harvard Business School & NBER
Discussant: Ben Iverson, Brigham Young University (Marriott)
11:20 – 12:10
12:10 PM
Final Remarks, Paper Submissions & Future Directions
12:30 PM
Adjourn for Lunch and Afternoon Activities
Afternoon
Optional Hike — Grotto Falls, Hyalite Canyon
Montana Financial Decision Making Conference  ·  August 6–7, 2026  ·  Bozeman, MT