Estimating Prudence

Joseph Eisenhauer ()
Additional contact information
Joseph Eisenhauer: Department of Economics and Finance, Canisius College

Eastern Economic Journal, 2000, vol. 26, issue 4, 379-392

Abstract: This study uses an expected utility model of life insurance demand to derive reduced form equations for the Leland-Kimball measures of absolute and relative prudence. The model is estimated for various demographic subgroups using survey data form the University of Michigan's Health and Retirement Study. The estimates of relative prudence range from 1.51 to 5.15, with males at the lower end and females at the higher end of the range. Additionally, prudence is higher among older and married cohorts than among younger and unmarried cohorts, respectively; and smokers, drinkers, and risk-takers appear to be less prudent than their respective counterparts.

Keywords: Insurance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D12 D81 G22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2000
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Downloads: (external link)
http://web.holycross.edu/RePEc/eej/Archive/Volume26/V26N4P379_392.pdf (application/pdf)

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: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eej:eeconj:v:26:y:2000:i:4:p:379-392

Access Statistics for this article

Eastern Economic Journal is currently edited by Cynthia A. Bansak, St. Lawrence University and Allan A. Zebedee, Clarkson University

More articles in Eastern Economic Journal from Eastern Economic Association Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Victor Matheson, College of the Holy Cross ().