The evolution of risk attitudes: A panel study of the university years
基于大学生五年追踪数据，发现风险容忍度在激励性彩票选择中随时间上升，而在非激励性调查中下降；新冠疫情等负面冲击对调查测度影响更大。
We analyze a unique longitudinal dataset of university students to investigate the stability of risk preferences over a five-year period. Our findings indicate that subjects’ risk tolerance, as measured by incentivized lottery choices, tends to increase over time, while it moves in the opposite direction when assessed through a non-incentivized survey question. Furthermore, we exploit the COVID-19 pandemic to explore the impact of negative experiences and emotions on the temporal changes in subjects’ risk preferences. Our analysis reveals that, within the same group of respondents, the risk tolerance elicited by the incentivized measure proves to be more stable, whereas the survey measure exhibits greater sensitivity, declining in response to negative shocks. These results enhance our understanding of how risk preferences evolve over time and emphasize the importance of employing appropriate measurement methods when investigating risk attitudes.