Empirical Essays on Household Finance and Incentives

Abstract

This cumulative doctoral thesis consists of the following papers: Becker, M. G., Stolper, O. & Walter, A. (2026). Investing by example: Leveraging peer information in digital banking (Working paper). Becker, M. G., & Walter, A. (2026). From branches to browsers: A comparative analysis of direct and traditional bank clients in Germany (Working paper). Becker, M. G., & Walter, A. (2024). Anlageverhalten und Kundenprofile im Vergleich: Unterschiede zwischen Sparkassen, Genossenschaftsbanken und Großbanken. Zeitschrift für Bankrecht und Bankwirtschaft, 36(6), 382–392. https://doi.org/10.15375/zbb-2024-0606 Becker, M. G., Maier, T., & Walter, A. (2026). Perception vs. reality: Wealth disparities between urban and rural households in Germany (Working paper). Becker, C. C., & Becker, M. G. (2026). Financial support among siblings: The relevance of personal and family characteristics (Working paper). Becker, M. G., Martin, F., & Walter, A. (2022). The power of ESG transparency: The effect of the new SFDR sustainability labels on mutual funds and individual investors. Finance Research Letters, 47, 102708. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2022.102708 Fernandes, M., Becker, M. G., Pull, K., & Walter, A. (2025). When a B becomes an A: Causal evidence on the effects of a journal ranking update on academics’ publication behavior. Studies in Higher Education, 50(12), 2942–2963. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2024.2447788