Gender Differences in Risk Aversion: A Theory of When and Why

26 Pages Posted: 3 Aug 2012

See all articles by Rakesh K. Sarin

Rakesh K. Sarin

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Decisions, Operations, and Technology Management (DOTM) Area

Alice M. Wieland

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Anderson School of Management

Date Written: May 1, 2012

Abstract

It has become well-accepted that women are more risk averse than men. This research investigates when gender differences in risk aversion are likely to occur and when they are less likely to manifest. We find that gender differences in risk aversion are likely to occur in decisions under risk, where the probability of outcomes is known and objectively quantified, such as games of chance, and less likely to occur in decisions under uncertainty, where one must rely on their own internal subjective expectancies of the probabilities of outcomes – the kind of decisions that dominate our day-to-day decision-making. We propose and test the mechanism that is responsible for producing gender differences in risk aversion: one’s subjective expectancy of the outcome. In decisions under risk, when subjective expectancies are accounted for, the gender difference in risk aversion disappears; while in decisions under uncertainty, we do not observe any gender differences in risk aversion, but instead find one’s subjective expectancies of the outcome to be the only reliable predicator of valuation.

Keywords: gender, sex differences, risk aversion, decision-making, expectancies

Suggested Citation

Sarin, Rakesh K. and Wieland, Alice M., Gender Differences in Risk Aversion: A Theory of When and Why (May 1, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2123567 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2123567

Rakesh K. Sarin

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Decisions, Operations, and Technology Management (DOTM) Area ( email )

110 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1481
United States

Alice M. Wieland (Contact Author)

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Anderson School of Management ( email )

110 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1481
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
563
Abstract Views
2,606
Rank
89,763
PlumX Metrics