The effect of risk attitudes on search behavior: A laboratory search experiment

Takahiro Miura (), Keigo Inukai () and Masaru Sasaki ()
Additional contact information
Takahiro Miura: Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University
Keigo Inukai: Osaka University, ISER
Masaru Sasaki: Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University. IZA.

No 17-17, Discussion Papers in Economics and Business from Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics

Abstract: This paper tests the effect of risk preferences on search activities by using a labo- ratory experiment. We used an infinite-horizon sequential search model with no recall in which an individual gains over search. We elicit the risk preferences from observed search activities of participants and from the multiple price list (MPL) method. We found the statistically significant effect of risk preferences elicited from the MPL method on the duration of search. The search duration is on average shorter for a risk averse individual than for risk loving one, which is consistent with the theoretical prediction. The significant effect of risk preferences on search activities has not been observed in the previous literature that used search model with recall in which an individual pays from the initial endowment over search (Schunk 2009, Schunk and Winter 2009). Therefore, the correlation between risk preferences and search activities depends on the type of search models.

Keywords: Risk preference; Sequential search; MPL (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D81 D83 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 19 pages
Date: 2017-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-exp and nep-upt
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www2.econ.osaka-u.ac.jp/library/global/dp/1717.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osk:wpaper:1717

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Discussion Papers in Economics and Business from Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by The Economic Society of Osaka University ().