The Realization Effect: Risk-Taking After Realized Versus Paper Losses
通过区分已实现损失和账面损失，调和了关于损失后风险态度变化的矛盾发现：已实现损失后人们规避风险，而账面损失后则更愿冒险。
Understanding how prior outcomes affect risk attitudes is critical for the study of choice under uncertainty. A large literature documents the significant influence of prior losses on risk attitudes. The findings appear contradictory: some studies find greater risk-taking after a loss, whereas others show the opposite—that people take on less risk. I reconcile these seemingly inconsistent findings by distinguishing between realized versus paper losses. Using new and existing data, I replicate prior findings and demonstrate that following a realized loss, individuals avoid risk; if the same loss is not realized, a paper loss, individuals take on greater risk.