Gender Differences in Risk Aversion and Ambiguity Aversion

Lex Borghans, Bart Golsteyn (), James J. Heckman and Huub Meijers

No 3985, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Abstract: This paper demonstrates gender differences in risk aversion and ambiguity aversion. It also contributes to a growing literature relating economic preference parameters to psychological measures by asking whether variations in preference parameters among persons, and in particular across genders, can be accounted for by differences in personality traits and traits of cognition. Women are more risk averse than men. Over an initial range, women require no further compensation for the introduction of ambiguity but men do. At greater levels of ambiguity, women have the same marginal distaste for increased ambiguity as men. Psychological variables account for some of the interpersonal variation in risk aversion. They explain none of the differences in ambiguity.

Keywords: risk aversion; ambiguity aversion; gender (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 D03 D80 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-ent and nep-upt
Date: Written
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Published in: Journal of the European Economic Association, 2009, 7(2-3), 649-658

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Related works:
Working Paper: Gender Differences in Risk Aversion and Ambiguity Aversion (2009)
Working Paper: Gender Differences in Risk Aversion and Ambiguity Aversion (2009)
Journal Article: Gender Differences in Risk Aversion and Ambiguity Aversion (2009)
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