Ambiguity Aversion and Household Portfolio Choice: Empirical Evidence
59 Pages Posted: 26 Jan 2013 Last revised: 20 Mar 2022
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Ambiguity Aversion and Household Portfolio Choice Puzzles: Empirical Evidence
Ambiguity Aversion and Household Portfolio Choice Puzzles: Empirical Evidence
Date Written: January 2013
Abstract
We test the relation between ambiguity aversion and five household portfolio choice puzzles: non- participation, low allocations to equity, home-bias, own-company stock ownership, and portfolio under- diversification. In a representative U.S. household survey, we measure ambiguity aversion using custom- designed questions based on Ellsberg urns. As theory predicts, ambiguity aversion is negatively associated with stock market participation, the fraction of financial assets in stocks, and foreign stock ownership, but positively related to own-company stock ownership. Conditional on stock ownership, ambiguity aversion is related to portfolio under-diversification, and during the financial crisis, ambiguity-averse respondents were more likely to sell stocks.
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