Born to be wild: Second-to-fourth digit length ratio and risk preferences

Brian Finley, Adriaan Kalwij and Arie Kapteyn

Economics & Human Biology, 2022, vol. 47, issue C

Abstract: The second-to-fourth digit length ratio of an individual’s hand (digit ratio) is a putative biomarker for prenatal exposure to testosterone. We examine the hypothesized negative association between the digit ratio and the preference for risk taking within a large U.S. population survey. Our statistical framework provides a cardinal proxy for the true digit ratio based on ordinal digit ratio measurements and accounts for measurement error under the assumptions of Gaussianity and time-invariant true digit ratios. Our empirical findings support the hypothesis and suggest a meaningful biological basis for risk preferences.

Keywords: Risk preferences; Digit ratio; Measurement error; U.S. survey data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A12 C8 D01 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:47:y:2022:i:c:s1570677x22000740

DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2022.101178

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