Gender Differences in Risk Aversion and Ambiguity Aversion

Lex Borghans, Bart Golsteyn (), James Heckman and Huub Meijers

No 14713, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper demonstrates gender differences in risk aversion and ambiguity aversion. It also contributes to a growing literature relating economic preference parameters to psychological measures by asking whether variations in preference parameters among persons, and in particular across genders, can be accounted for by differences in personality traits and traits of cognition. Women are more risk averse than men. Over an initial range, women require no further compensation for the introduction of ambiguity but men do. At greater levels of ambiguity, women have the same marginal distaste for increased ambiguity as men. Psychological variables account for some of the interpersonal variation in risk aversion. They explain none of the differences in ambiguity.

JEL-codes: D03 D80 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009-02
Note: LS
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (389)

Published as Lex Borghans & Bart H. H. Golsteyn & James J. Heckman & Huub Meijers, 2009. "Gender Differences in Risk Aversion and Ambiguity Aversion," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 7(2-3), pages 649-658, 04-05.

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Related works:
Journal Article: Gender Differences in Risk Aversion and Ambiguity Aversion (2009)
Working Paper: Gender Differences in Risk Aversion and Ambiguity Aversion (2009)
Working Paper: Gender differences in risk aversion and ambiguity aversion (2009)
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