Carla Fried

Writer

About

Carla Fried is a freelance journalist who specializes in personal finance, with a keen interest in how behavioral issues impact consumer decisions. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Money magazine, Barron’s, Bloomberg, CNBC and Consumer Reports.

Two columns of three different menu price plans for internet services. Research Brief / Nudges

A Common Marketing Nudge Can Foster Consumer Distrust

Placing an inferior ‘decoy’ option in a menu of choices can trigger people to take their business elsewhere

Piggy bank over orange background Research Brief / Finance

Oversight of Borrowed Money Creates Animosity

Friends lending to friends, taxpayers bailing out businesses feel it’s still their money and have opinions on how it’s spent

Aerial view of Chicago from the south. Research Brief / Wealth Inequality

Segregation Compounds the Effects of Poverty

In Northern cities, railroad tracks that defined Black neighborhoods remain boundaries against economic mobility

Research Brief / Wealth Inequality

In Pleas to Remedy Economic Inequality, Babies’ Faces Outperform Adults’

It’s harder to hold an infant responsible for being poor

An empty two-lane highway under a cloud-filled sky at either dusk or dawn. Research Brief / Time Management

Thinking in Days, Weeks, Years — Rather Than Minutes — Can Bring Contentment

A broader view of one’s time also changes how one spends it

Black and white image of train tracks Research Brief / Banking

How Banking’s Bifurcated Deposit Approach Is Altering Lending — and Risk

Offering higher deposit rates lessens emphasis on loans of fixed rate and longer maturity

Vintage desktop calendar isolated on a white background. Research Brief / Bond Market

Unintended Consequence of Stale Corporate Bond Fund Prices Amid Fed Tightening

In wild markets, do the most dated prices actually reduce redemptions?

True and false symbols accept rejected for evaluation, Yes or No on wood blogs on blue background Research Brief / Ethics

Institutions Make Mistakes: Which Should We Seek to Prevent; Which Ought We Fix After the Fact?

In experiments, people endorsed seemingly harsh policies — only to reverse course after the fact

Aerial view of Los Angeles at sunset. Research Brief / Global Warming

Assessing Climate Disclosure as U.S. Drops Scope 3 Requirement

What emerges is a fragmented view of corporate contribution to global warming

Pre-adolescent boy wearing in red over a red background with a cool attitude. Research Brief / Behavioral Decision Making

Major Adolescent Stress Reduces Connection to Future Self

And thinking less about one’s adult life can reduce the pursuit of higher education

Illustration of many people with signs protesting. Research Brief / Behavioral Economics

Consumer Backlash to CEO Advocacy: Signaling or Act of Conscience?

An experiment seeks to isolate motivation and raises concerns for outspoken corporate leaders

Leadership Concept with Paper Ship Research Brief / COVID-19

The Case for Field Experiments in Behavioral Research

Nudges already proven to work in the real-world increased uptake of COVID-19 boosters; nudges based on lab findings and expert insights, not so much

A close-up of a single opioid pill resting on top of a prescription pill bottle. Research Brief / Health Care

A Supportive Letter to Doctors on Best Practices Reduces Opioid Prescriptions 

In LA, doctors who lose a patient to opioid overdose get a letter from the coroner; tweaking that letter had a substantial impact

Close up on eyes of a younger woman and older woman next to one another Research Brief / Innovation

A Case Against Experience as a Central Driver of Innovation

Are older inventors weighed down by obsolete knowledge? Young inventors don’t carry that burden