Are Women More Risk Averse?

Nancy Ammon Jianakoplos and Alexandra Bernasek

Economic Inquiry, 1998, vol. 36, issue 4, pages 620-30

Abstract: The authors find that single women exhibit relatively more risk aversion in financial decision making than single men. Using U.S. sample data, they examine household holdings of risky assets to determine whether there are gender differences in financial risk taking. As wealth increases, the proportion of wealth held as risky assets is estimated to increase by a smaller amount for single women than for single men. Gender differences in financial risk taking are also influenced by age, race, and number of children. Greater financial risk aversion may provide an explanation for women's lower levels of wealth compared with men's. Copyright 1998 by Oxford University Press.

Date: 1998
View citations in EconPapers

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

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: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:ecinqu:v:36:y:1998:i:4:p:620-30

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.oup.co.uk/journals

Access Statistics for this article

Economic Inquiry is edited by Preston McAfee

More articles in Economic Inquiry from Oxford University Press
Address: Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK
Series data maintained by Christopher F. Baum ().