Assistant Professor of Finance

Professor Choi's research focuses on various aspects of household investment behavior and the effect those investments have on security prices. His work has led to changes in 401(k) plan design at many U.S. corporations and has influenced pension legislation both in the U.S. and abroad. His papers have been cited in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, BusinessWeek, Financial Times, Christian Science Monitor, and USA Today.

Achievements and Awards
National Institute on Aging R01 grant, (with J. Beshears, D. Laibson, and B.C. Madrian), 2007-2011
Social Security Administration grant, (with D. Laibson and B.C. Madrian), 2007-2008
Improving Disclosure to Investors grant, (with J. Beshears, D. Laibson, and B.C. Madrian), FINRA Investor Education Foundation, 2007-2009
Project Development Award, (with D.J. Benjamin), NBER Center for Aging and Health Research, 2006-2007
Russell Sage Small Grant in Behavioral Economics, 2006
Social Security Administration grant, (with D. Laibson and B.C. Madrian), 2004-2005
National Institute on Aging R01 grant, (with D. Laibson, B. C. Madrian, and A. Metrick), 2003-2007
NBER Pre-Doctoral Fellow in Aging and Health Economics, 2003-2005
Harvey Fellow, Mustard Seed Foundation, 2003-2005
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 2000-2003 Harvard University Fellowship, 2000-2002

Selected Articles
"Mental Accounting in Portfolio Choice: Evidence from a Flypaper Effect" (with D. Laibson and B.C. Madrian), American Economic Review, forthcoming

"How Are Preferences Revealed?" (with J. Beshears, D. Laibson, and B.C. Madrian), Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 92, No. 8-9, 1787-1794, August, 2008

"Early Decisions: A Regulatory Framework" (with J. Beshears, D. Laibson, and B.C. Madrian), Swedish Economic Policy Review, Vol. 12, 41-60, 2005

"Are Empowerment and Education Enough? Underdiversification in 401(k) Plans" (with D. Laibson and B.C. Madrian), Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Vol. 2, 151-198, 2005

"Plan Design and 401(k) Savings Outcomes" (with D. Laibson and B.C. Madrian), National Tax Journal, Vol. 57, 275-298, June, 2004

"Optimal Defaults" (with D. Laibson, B.C. Madrian, and A. Metrick), American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, Vol. 93, 180-185, May, 2003

"How Does the Internet Affect Trading? Evidence from Investor Behavior in 401(k) Plans" (with D. Laibson and A. Metrick), Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 64, 397-421, June, 2002

"The Value Line Enigma: The Sum of Known Parts?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Vol. 35, 485-498, September, 2000

Selected Book Chapters
"The Impact of Employer Matching on Savings Plan Participation under Automatic Enrollment" (with J. Beshears, D. Laibson, and B.C. Madrian), in D. A. Wise (ed), Research Findings in the Economics of Aging, University of Chicago Press, forthcoming

"Reducing the Complexity Costs of 401(k) Participation Through Quick Enrollment™" (with D. Laibson and B.C. Madrian) in D. A. Wise (ed.), Developments in the Economics of Aging, University of Chicago Press, forthcoming 

"The Importance of Default Options for Retirement Savings Outcomes: Evidence from the United States" (with J. Beshears, D. Laibson, and B.C. Madrian) in S.J. Kay and T. Sinha, eds., Lessons from Pension Reform in the Americas, Oxford University Press, 2008

"Saving For Retirement on the Path of Least Resistance" (with D. Laibson, B.C. Madrian, and A. Metrick). in E. McCaffrey and J. Slemrod, eds., Behavioral Public Finance: Toward a New Agenda, Russell Sage Foundation, 2006

"Employees' Investment Decisions About Company Stock" (with D. Laibson, B.C. Madrian, and A. Metrick) in O.S. Mitchell and S.P. Utkus, eds., Pension Design and Structure: New Lessons from Behavioral Finance, Oxford University Press, 2004

"For Better or For Worse: Default Effects and 401(k) Savings Behavior" (with D. Laibson, B.C. Madrian, and A. Metrick) in David Wise, ed., Perspectives on the Economics of Aging, University of Chicago Press, 2004

"Defined Contribution Pensions: Plan Rules, Participant Decisions, and the Path of Least Resistance" (with D. Laibson, B.C. Madrian, and A. Metrick) in James Poterba, ed., Tax Policy and the Economy, Vol. 16, MIT Press, 2002

Working Papers
"A Primer on 401(k) Loans" (with J. Beshears, D. Laibson, and B.C. Madrian)

"How Does Simplified Disclosure Affect Individuals’ Mutual Fund Choices?" (with J. Beshears, D. Laibson, and B.C. Madrian)

"Why Does the Law of One Price Fail? An Experiment on Index Mutual Funds" (with D. Laibson and B.C. Madrian)

"$100 Bills on the Sidewalk: Suboptimal Investment in 401(k) Plans" (with D. Laibson and B.C. Madrian)

"Social Identity and Preferences" (with D.J. Benjamin and A. J. Strickland)

"Optimal Defaults and Active Decisions" (with G.D. Carroll, D. Laibson, B.C. Madrian, and A. Metrick)

"Reinforcement Learning and Investor Behavior" (with D. Laibson, B.C. Madrian, and A. Metrick)

"Extrapolative Expectations and the Equity Premium"

"Simplification and Saving" (with J. Beshears, D. Laibson, and B.C. Madrian)

Education
PhD Harvard University, 2005
AB Harvard University, 1998