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DR. MICHAEL GUTTER

PROFESSOR & ASSOCIATE DEAN for Extension

1020 McCarty D

(352) 392-1761|msgutter@ufl.edu

DR. MICHAEL GUTTER

PROFESSOR & ASSOCIATE DEAN for Extension

1020 McCarty D

(352) 392-1761|msgutter@ufl.edu

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Michael Gutter is the Associate Dean for Extension - State Program Leader for 4-H Youth Development, Families and Communities for the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida. His BS is in Family Financial Management and his PhD is in Family Resource Management from The Ohio State University with a specialization in Finance. Gutter’s research focuses on examining how socioeconomic status, financial education, personal psychology, and financial socialization are related to financial behaviors. His outreach focuses on improving financial behaviors by increasing knowledge, skills, and access to services.

Gutter’s outreach projects include Managing in Tough Times, Florida Saves, Get Checking, Military Family Learning Network, and the Florida Master Money Mentor. His projects focus on enabling access to resources and services as well as improving people’s knowledge and understanding about family resource management. These projects have had funding from the Consumer Federation of America and Bank of America. He regularly tweets on personal finance topics under @mikegutter on Twitter.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

My current research begins with the Behavioral Life Cycle Model and uses Behavioral Economics to explore key choices families make. My most recent work has focused on the role of information as influencers of decisions regarding mortgages, borrowing for education, and retirement decision making. We have used experimental design in an online setting to explore the role cognitive biases can have in the context of intertemporal resource allocation over the lifespan. Our results have suggestions for policies, additional research, and outreach education. All of the aforementioned issues have been shown to have substantial long term implications for economic well being for families but also have implications for society and the economy as a whole (e.g. some of the recent housing crisis). Current work is shifting into applying these concepts within the intersection of financial and healthcare decision making.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Michael Gutter is the Associate Dean for Extension - State Program Leader for 4-H Youth Development, Families and Communities for the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida. His BS is in Family Financial Management and his PhD is in Family Resource Management from The Ohio State University with a specialization in Finance. Gutter’s research focuses on examining how socioeconomic status, financial education, personal psychology, and financial socialization are related to financial behaviors. His outreach focuses on improving financial behaviors by increasing knowledge, skills, and access to services.

Gutter’s outreach projects include Managing in Tough Times, Florida Saves, Get Checking, Military Family Learning Network, and the Florida Master Money Mentor. His projects focus on enabling access to resources and services as well as improving people’s knowledge and understanding about family resource management. These projects have had funding from the Consumer Federation of America and Bank of America. He regularly tweets on personal finance topics under @mikegutter on Twitter.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

My current research begins with the Behavioral Life Cycle Model and uses Behavioral Economics to explore key choices families make. My most recent work has focused on the role of information as influencers of decisions regarding mortgages, borrowing for education, and retirement decision making. We have used experimental design in an online setting to explore the role cognitive biases can have in the context of intertemporal resource allocation over the lifespan. Our results have suggestions for policies, additional research, and outreach education. All of the aforementioned issues have been shown to have substantial long term implications for economic well being for families but also have implications for society and the economy as a whole (e.g. some of the recent housing crisis). Current work is shifting into applying these concepts within the intersection of financial and healthcare decision making.