The MetLife Foundation has announced a three-year, $7.9 million grant to Duke University for an initiative that will use behavioral economics to improve Americans' saving and spending habits.

The grant will support the launch of the CommonCents Lab, which will partner with banks, credit unions, community colleges, employers, and nonprofit organizations to design, build, and test behavior-related solutions intended to help people make smarter choices with their finances. To be managed by Duke's Center for Advanced Hindsight, which is headed by Dan Ariely, the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics, the lab will focus on helping people build emergency, retirement, and college savings and make informed big-purchase decisions and end-of-life financial arrangements.

The funding from MetLife also will be used to establish two locations for the lab — one in Durham, and a second in San Francisco that will focus on translating behavioral insights into commercial applications.

"Most people know that saving for emergencies, college, and their retirement is great — and they want to save. But knowing what is helpful and taking action to achieve it are two different things," said Metlife Foundation president and CEO Dennis White. "We're excited to provide funding and to partner with the CommonCents Lab to help them identify new solutions that will get people to act."