Individual Risk Attitudes : Measurement, Determinants and Behavioral Consequences
Journal
Journal of the European Economic Association
ISSN
1542-4766
ISSN-Digital
1542-4774
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2011-06
Author(s)
Sunde, Uwe
;
Dohmen, Thomas
;
Falk, Armin
;
Huffman, David
;
Schupp, Jürgen
;
Wagner, Gert G.
Abstract
This paper studies risk attitudes using a large representative survey and a complementaryexperiment conducted with a representative subject pool in subjects' homes. Using aquestion asking people about their willingness to take risks "in general", we find thatgender, age, height, and parental background have an economically significant impacton willingness to take risks. The experiment confirms the behavioral validity of thismeasure, using paid lottery choices. Turning to other question about risk attitudesin specific contexts, we find similar results on the determinants of risk attitudes, andalso shed light on the deeper question of stability of risk attitudes across contexts. Weconduct a horse race of the ability of different measures to explain risky behaviorssuch as holdings stocks, occupational choice, and smoking. The question about risktakingin general generates the best all-around predictor of risky behavior.
Language
English
Keywords
folgt
HSG Classification
contribution to practical use / society
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
Publisher place
Oxford UK
Volume
9
Number
3
Start page
522
End page
550
Pages
29
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
71733