Aaron Goodman
I am a researcher at Vanguard, studying topics related to household finance, retirement, and investor behavior. I received my PhD in Economics from MIT in 2022.
Email: aaron.goodman.15@gmail.com
Research
Impatience or Illiquidity? The Case of Early 401(k) Withdrawals
Media: Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CNBC, Business Insider, PlanAdviser, InvestmentNews
Retention or Regressivity? The Empirical Effects of 401(k) Vesting Schedules
(with Guillermo Carranza)
Revise and Resubmit, Journal of Finance
Media: Wall Street Journal
Simple Allocation Rules and Optimal Portfolio Choice Over the Lifecycle
(with Victor Duarte, Julia Fonseca, and Jonathan Parker)
Media: Wall Street Journal, Morningstar
Overvaluing Simple Bets: Evidence from the Options Market
Journal of Financial Economics, October 2025
Media: Money Stuff
Interstate Competition in Higher Education and the Allocation of Financial Aid
Policy writing and short pieces
Vanguard Labor Market Insights (real-time indicators from 401k admin data)
(with Fiona Greig, Kelly Hahn, Adam Schickling, and Nicky Zhang)
Improving Retirement Outcomes by Default: The Case for an IRA QDIA
(with Andy Reed, Fiona Greig, Ariana Abousaeedi, and Sachin Padmawar)
Media: Wall Street Journal (x2), CBS News, USA Today, MarketWatch, Money, Barron's
(with Andy Reed)
Media: Barron's, Business Insider, CNBC, MarketWatch, Money, PlanAdviser, USA Today
Does 401(k) Loan Repayment Crowd Out Retirement Saving? Implications for Plan Design
(with John Beshears, James Choi, Joel Dickson, Fiona Greig, and David Laibson)
Media: PlanSponsor, InvestmentNews
Liquidity without Leakage: How to Design Emergency Expense Withdrawals from Retirement Plans
(with Fiona Greig and Kelly Hahn)