Joint measurement of risk aversion, prudence, and temperance

Sebastian Ebert and Daniel Wiesen ()

Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 2014, vol. 48, issue 3, 252 pages

Abstract: Risk aversion—but also the higher-order risk preferences of prudence and temperance—are fundamental concepts in the study of economic decision making. We propose a method to jointly measure the intensity of risk aversion, prudence, and temperance. Our theoretical approach is to define risk compensations of different orders, and in an experiment we elicit these compensations with a price list technique. We find evidence for risk aversion, prudence, and temperance. These traits correlate within subjects. The compensations elicited for prudence are significantly larger than those for risk aversion and temperance. In contrast to commonly used utility functions, prospect theory can predict this behavioral pattern. In our experiment, risk-averse, risk-loving, and risk-neutral subjects are prudent. This supports a recent theoretical observation that prudence may be a more universal trait than previously realized. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Keywords: Decision making under risk; Experiment; Prospect theory; Prudence; Risk aversion; Risk-loving; Temperance; C91; D81 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (90)

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Working Paper: Joint measurement of risk aversion, prudence and temperance (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:jrisku:v:48:y:2014:i:3:p:231-252

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DOI: 10.1007/s11166-014-9193-0

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