Genetic and environmental influences on household financial distress

Yilan Xu (), Daniel A. Briley, Jeffrey Brown and Brent W. Roberts

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2017, vol. 142, issue C, 404-424

Abstract: Heterogeneity of household financial outcomes emerges from various individual and environmental factors, including personality, cognitive ability, and socioeconomic status (SES), among others. Using a genetically informative data set, we decompose the variation in financial management behavior into genetic, shared environmental and non-shared environmental factors. We find that about half of the variation in financial distress is genetically influenced, and personality and cognitive ability are associated with financial distress through genetic and within-family pathways. Moreover, genetic influences of financial distress are highest at the extremes of SES, which in part can be explained by neuroticism and cognitive ability being more important predictors of financial distress at low and high levels of SES, respectively.

Keywords: Household finance; Personality traits; Cognitive ability; Socioeconomic status; Behavior genetics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D14 D31 G31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:142:y:2017:i:c:p:404-424

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2017.08.001

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