Prior research has shown that people who are more comfortable taking financial risks tend to feel more confident about retiring. But new research by Rao, McDermott Centennial Chair in Banking and Finance and director of the Langston Wealth Management Center at Texas McCombs, sheds light on why.

The key variable, he finds, is subjective financial knowledge, or SFK: not what people know about money, but what they believe they know. People with higher levels of SFK are more likely to tolerate risk and to feel they’ve saved enough for retirement.

A new study published in the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal examines how long-standing cultural practices, specifically cousin marriage traditions, continue to influence business outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa's informal economy.

Researchers Saul Estrin (London School of Economics), Tomasz Mickiewicz (Aston University), and Peng Zhang (University of Sheffield) analyzed survey data from over 3,000 informal entrepreneurs across eight African countries. They explored how pre-colonial family structures—especially the practice of marrying within the extended family—affect key indicators of business performance, such as employment and revenue.