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Job loss is a common and disruptive life event. It is known to have numerous long-term negative effects on financial, health, and social outcomes. While the negative effects of becoming unemployed on health and well-being are well understood, the influence of job loss on financial decisions has received little attention. Across a large-scale survey ( $N=37,854$), spending data from a bank ( $N=404,470$), and two online experiments (total $N=1,403$), we find that job loss increases financial risk-taking. First, in survey data, job loss is associated with elevated levels of self-reported financial risk-taking and lottery ticket purchases. Next, using administrative data from a large bank, we find consistent causal evidence of the influence of job loss on gambling spending. Although total spending decreases after job loss, gambling spending is less affected than our control categories. Finally, we turn to two incentive-compatible manipulations of job loss operationalized in a lab setting. We find that this experimental manipulation increases the take-up of financial risks. The current finding that job loss increases financial risk-taking could accentuate long-term negative financial effects of job loss. 

For more than 60 years, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has promoted the peaceful use of nuclear science and technology for addressing major socioeconomic and sustainable development priorities at national, regional, and interregional levels. The Agency’s Technical Cooperation (TC) Programme is the primary mechanism for transferring nuclear and related technologies to its Member States, helping them to address their priorities in a variety of areas such as health and nutrition, food and agriculture, water and the environment, industrial applications, and, of course, the safe and secure use of nuclear energy. Here, we briefly describe the types of TC Programme projects that promote the sustainable development of coastal countries and the mechanisms IAEA uses to identify and support the projects. We highlight two of these projects.