Gender differentiation in risk-taking behavior: On the relative risk aversion of single men and single women

Oded Stark and Ewa Zawojska

Economics Letters, 2015, vol. 137, issue C, 83-87

Abstract: We relate an observed difference between single men (SM) and single women (SW) in attitudes towards risk to the higher value assigned to social status by SM than by SW. In the marriage market, low status carries a harsher penalty for SM than for SW because when selecting a partner, the social status of a man is more important to a woman than the social status of a woman is to a man. Correlating social status with relative wealth, we show how intensified distaste at experiencing low relative wealth reduces relative risk aversion.

Keywords: Risk-taking behavior; Gender-based difference in risk aversion; Relative wealth deprivation; Social status; Marriage market outcome (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D03 D81 G11 G32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

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Working Paper: Gender differentiation in risk-taking behavior: On the relative risk aversion of single men and single women (2015)
Working Paper: Gender differentiation in risk-taking behavior: On the relative risk aversion of single men and single women (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:137:y:2015:i:c:p:83-87

DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2015.09.023

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