Yao, Rui publications (MU)
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Collected created February 2, 2018.
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Item Employment status and financial resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic(Emerald Publishing Limited, 2023) Yao, Rui; Zhang, Jie; Applied Social Science; 0000-0002-6009-9159 (Yao)Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the association between employment status and financial resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach – This study employed U.S. nationally representative data. A financial resilience index was created based on households’ ability to pay for basic living expenses and the resources used to meet such needs. Employment status was categorized into seven groups based on whether the respondent worked for pay in the last 7 days, experience of income shock since the start of the pandemic for workers’ household, and reasons for not working for non-workers’ household. A GLM model was used to examine the relationship between respondent employment status and household financial resilience. An OLS logistic regression with no proportional odds assumption was employed to investigate the association between respondent’s employment status and household ability to pay for basic living expenses. A logistic regression was utilized to explore the relationship between respondent employment status and resources used by the household to pay for basic living expenses. Findings – The top three least financially resilient households include those in which: the respondent’s work was affected by the pandemic, the respondent did not work due to being sick with COVID or caring for someone with COVID, and the respondent did not work due to fear of COVID. Research limitations/implications – Future research should distinguish the reasons for not working when examining the association between unemployment and household financial resilience as well as their overall financial wellbeing. Cross-sectional data cannot establish a causal relationship. Findings using U.S. data may not be generalized to other countries. Practical implications – Workers with health and employment risks and financial professionals working with these clients should consider these risks when building household financial safety net. Policymakers should develop measures to allow normal business operations while effectively contain the spread of the COVID virus. Originality/value – This study created a financial resilience index that considers various household situations, allows both internal and external resources to be utilized to cover basic living expenses, and reflects the diverse nature of financial resilience. This study is the first to look into voluntary and involuntary labor force separation for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 related reasons.Item Mental disorders associated with COVID-19 related unemployment(2021) Yao, Rui; Wu, Weipeng; Personal Financial PlanningIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions on economic activities have resulted in a sharp rise of unemployment. The purpose of this research is to explore mental disorders associated with COVID-19 related unemployment using a large, nationally representative dataset, the 2020 COVID-19 Household Pulse Survey. ANOVA with post hoc tests (Tukey HSD) are utilized to reveal the mean difference of mental disorders between various employment status, as well as between reasons of unemployment. Binary logit model is used to investigate the potential effect of different reasons of unemployment on mental disorders. Individuals who were not working during the pandemic due to involuntary reasons had higher probabilities of mental disorders than those who were working and those who voluntarily separated from work. Among respondents who were not working due to COVID-19 related reasons, respondents whose employer went out of business were the most likely to experience mental disorders. Household job uncertainty in the next four weeks positively contributed to mental disorders. Government should consider measures to contain the spread of virous while keeping as many people employed as possible. Government should also consider providing adequate financial and counseling assistance to individuals who are in the greatest need for such support.Item Use of advisors and retirement plan performance(2020) Yao, Rui; Wu, Weipeng; Mendenhall, Cody; Personal Financial PlanningAs DC plans become more popular than DB plans, American workers are increasingly responsible for their retirement savings. Because retirement plan participants' portfolio allocation is constrained by the available funds in the plan, the construction of a plan's investment menu has become extremely important. No research has evaluated fund selection in retirement plans or compared plans involving an advisor with self-directed plans. To fill this research gap, this study employs cross-sectional, nationwide data that include 5,570 retirement plans with 100 or more participants in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Results show that in most cases, using advisors is not related to plan performance. Plan sponsors should require advisors to periodically evaluate the performance of plans under their management using objective measures.Item Millennials' retirement saving behavior : account ownership and balance(2017) Yao, Rui; Cheng, Guopeng; Personal Financial PlanningMillennials is the largest population in the United States. Compared with their parents and grandparents, they have to shoulder more responsibilities to prepare financially for retirement. It is critical for Millennials to begin saving and investing for their retirements early in their careers. Few studies analyzed this generation’s retirement saving behavior. Using data from the 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances, this study is among the first ones to examine the state of Millennials’ retirement savings, including retirement account ownership and balance. Results show that only 37.2% of Millennials had any kind of account earmarked for retirement; and among those with a retirement account, the average accumulated amount was $21,333. Factors that affected retirement saving behavior included age; education; total household income and assets; job tenure; self-employment; having a retirement saving motive; having a defined benefit plan; overspending; and risk tolerance. This study provided initial insights that can help financial planners and educators, as well as policymakers understand Millennials’ current retirement savings behavior and help them achieve a financially comfortable retirement.Item Credit card usage among college students in China(2018) Yao, Rui; Meng, Xiangyi; Personal Financial PlanningCredit cards have become a common method of payment for college students in China. It is important that they form good credit card usage behaviors and build a good credit history early in their financial life. Using data collected from 10 universities in China, results of this study found that being financially dependent on their parents is negatively associated with Chinese college students’ ability to pay their credit card bills. The study also found that students with a high level of financial knowledge were less likely to take cash advances on their credit card. Implications for financial educators and parents as well as policymakers were provided.