Collective risk-taking by couples: individual vs household risk

Jiakun Zheng (), Hélène Couprie () and Astrid Hopfensitz ()
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Jiakun Zheng: Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, AMSE, Centrale Méditerranée
Hélène Couprie: Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LEST
Astrid Hopfensitz: Emlyon Business School, CNRS, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, GATE

Theory and Decision, 2025, vol. 98, issue 4, No 6, 599-628

Abstract: Abstract 101 real couples participated in a controlled experimental risk-taking task involving variations in household and individual income risks, while controlling for ex-ante income inequality. Our design disentangles the effects of household risk, intra-household risk inequality, and ex-post payoff inequality. We find that most couples (about 79%) pooled their risk at the household level when risks were borne symmetrically, but a significant proportion of couples (about 36%) failed to do so when individual risks were borne asymmetrically. Additionally, within the scope of the control variables we have utilized, we find that intra-household risk inequality has a larger impact on non-married couples compared to married ones. These results remain robust when the analysis is limited to couples in which both spouses are risk-averse. Lastly, we find that preferences for household efficiency are significantly correlated across both certain and risky situations. However, couples consisting of two income-maximizing spouses do not show greater aversion to risk inequality compared to couples with other compositions.

Keywords: Experiment; Income pooling; Household risk taking; Inequality; C91; C92; D19; D81 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s11238-024-10021-z

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