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不平等与风险偏好

Inequality and risk preference

Journal of Risk and Uncertainty · 2024
被引 7
人大 BABS 3

中文导读

研究了收入不平等与风险承担的关系,发现收入不平等扩大时,人们更愿意冒险,且这种关系在认知能力更强和对收入不满的群体中更显著。

Abstract

Abstract This paper studies the relationship between income inequality and risk taking. Increased income inequality is likely to enlarge the scope for upward comparisons and, in the presence of reference-dependent preferences, to increase willingness to take risks. Using a globally representative data set on risk preference in 76 countries, we empirically document that the distribution of income in a country has a positive and significant link with the preference for risk. This relationship is remarkably precise and holds across countries and individuals, as well as alternate measures of inequality. We find evidence of a steeper gradient between willingness to take risks and inequality for cognitively more able individuals who likely have a better assessment of inequality and for those who are dissatisfied with their income. We present results in favour of our mechanism, which suggests that falling behind one’s reference group increases the appetite for risk taking.

收入不平等风险偏好行为经济学微观经济学