This paper empirically examines the behavioral precautionary saving hypothesis by Kőszegi and Rabin (2009) stating that uncertainty about future income triggers saving because of loss aversion. We extend their theoretical analysis to also consider the internal margin, i.e., the strength, of loss aversion, and empirically study the relation between income risk, experimentally elicited loss aversion and precautionary savings. We do so using a sample of 640 individuals from the low-income population of Bogotá, characterized by limited financial education and subject to substantial income risk. In line with the theoretical predictions, we find that an increase in income risk is associated with higher savings for loss-averse individuals, and that this increase in savings grows with the degree of loss aversion. Thus, as suggested by Kőszegi and Rabin (2009), but contrarily to common assumptions, our findings establish that loss aversion is not necessarily an obstacle to saving, and thus identify new approaches of increasing saving among individuals with low financial education.

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Recent discussions on the reproducibility of task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have emphasized the importance of power and sample size calculations in fMRI study planning. In general, statistical power and sample size calculations are dependent on the statistical inference framework that is used to test hypotheses. Bibliometric analyses suggest that random eld theory (RFT)-based voxel-and cluster-level fMRI inference are the most commonly used approaches for the statistical evaluation of task-related fMRI data. However, general power and sample size calculations for these inference approaches remain elusive. Based on the mathematical theory of RFT-based inference, we here develop power and positive predictive value (PPV) functions for voxel-and cluster-level inference in both uncorrected single test and corrected multiple testing scenarios. Moreover, we apply the theoretical results to evaluate the sample size necessary to achieve desired power and PPV levels based on an fMRI pilot study.

We measure the prevalence of discrimination between Jordanian host and Syrian refugee children attending school in Jordan. Using a simple sharing experiment, we find only a small degree of out-group discrimination. However, Jordanian children with Palestinian roots do not discriminate at all, suggesting that a family history of refugee status can generate solidarity with new refugees. We also find that parents’ narratives about the refugee crisis are correlated with their children's degree of out-group discrimination, particularly among Syrian refugee children, suggesting that discriminatory preferences are being transmitted through parental attitudes.

In the age group 50-70 adherence with lifestyle recommendations of almost 30% is rather low and not optimal. Health locus of control as motivational barrier should be taken into account particularly in secondary prevention. There is a need of health behavior interventions not only for persons at increased risk and CVD patients, but also for the (still) healthy. Men, singles and persons with external health locus of control should be particularly addressed by these interventions.