IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jetheo/v181y2019icp44-81.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Evolved attitudes to idiosyncratic and aggregate risk in age-structured populations

Author

Listed:
  • Robson, Arthur J.
  • Samuelson, Larry

Abstract

We examine the evolutionary foundations of risk attitudes in age-structured populations. The effect of idiosyncratic risk concerning fertility or mortality rates is captured by the corresponding mean fertility or mortality rate. The effect of aggregate risk, relative to the mean, varies with the type of risk and age. We establish conditions under which aggregate risk in fertility rates at young ages increases the population growth rate (compared to the corresponding mean fertility), but such risk in fertility rates at old ages reduces the growth rate. On the other hand, aggregate risk in mortality at young as well as old ages leads to increased growth rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Robson, Arthur J. & Samuelson, Larry, 2019. "Evolved attitudes to idiosyncratic and aggregate risk in age-structured populations," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 44-81.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jetheo:v:181:y:2019:i:c:p:44-81
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jet.2019.01.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022053119300109
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jet.2019.01.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas Dohmen & Armin Falk & Bart H. H. Golsteyn & David Huffman & Uwe Sunde, 2017. "Risk Attitudes Across The Life Course," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(605), pages 95-116, October.
    2. Ben-Porath Elchanan & Dekel Eddie & Rustichini Aldo, 1993. "On the Relationship between Mutation Rates and Growth Rates in a Changing Environment," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 576-603, October.
    3. Arthur J. Robson & Larry Samuelson, 2009. "The Evolution of Time Preference with Aggregate Uncertainty," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(5), pages 1925-1953, December.
    4. Thomas Dohmen & Armin Falk & Bart H. H. Golsteyn & David Huffman & Uwe Sunde, 2017. "Risk Attitudes Across The Life Course," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(605), pages 95-116, October.
    5. Paul Slovic & Baruch Fischhoff & Sarah Lichtenstein, 1982. "Why Study Risk Perception?," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 2(2), pages 83-93, June.
    6. Robson, Arthur J., 1996. "A Biological Basis for Expected and Non-expected Utility," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 397-424, February.
    7. Robatto, Roberto & Szentes, Balázs, 2017. "On the biological foundation of risk preferences," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 410-422.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Robson, Arthur & Samuelson, Larry, 2022. "The evolution of risk attitudes with fertility thresholds," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    2. Heller, Yuval & Robson, Arthur J., 2021. "Evolution, heritable risk and skewness loving," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 16(2), May.
    3. Heller, Yuval & NEHAMA, Ilan, 2021. "Evolutionary Foundation for Heterogeneity in Risk Aversion," MPRA Paper 110194, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Heller, Yuval & Nehama, Ilan, 2023. "Evolutionary foundation for heterogeneity in risk aversion," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    5. Wu, Jiabin & Zhang, Hanzhe, 2021. "Preference evolution in different matching markets," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    6. Heller, Yuval & Robson, Arthur, 2019. "Evolution and Preference for Local Risk," MPRA Paper 95264, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Terence C. Burnham & Jay Phelan, 2022. "Ordinaries 10," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 181-202, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Robson, Arthur & Samuelson, Larry, 2022. "The evolution of risk attitudes with fertility thresholds," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    2. Heller, Yuval & Nehama, Ilan, 2023. "Evolutionary foundation for heterogeneity in risk aversion," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    3. Heller, Yuval & Robson, Arthur J., 2021. "Evolution, heritable risk and skewness loving," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 16(2), May.
    4. Yuval Heller & Ilan Nehama, 2021. "Evolutionary Foundation for Heterogeneity in Risk Aversion," Papers 2110.11245, arXiv.org, revised Jan 2023.
    5. Wu, Jiabin & Zhang, Hanzhe, 2021. "Preference evolution in different matching markets," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    6. Heller, Yuval & Robson, Arthur, 2019. "Evolution and Preference for Local Risk," MPRA Paper 95264, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Cardak, Buly A. & Martin, Vance L., 2023. "Household willingness to take financial risk: Stockmarket movements and life‐cycle effects," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    8. Delphine Boutin & Laurène Petifour & Haris Megzari, 2022. "Instability of preferences due to Covid-19 Crisis and emotions: a natural experiment from urban Burkina Faso," Working Papers hal-03623601, HAL.
    9. Griffith, Rachel & O'Connell, Martin & Smith, Kate & Cherchye, Laurens & De Rock, Bram & Vermeulen, Frederic, 2017. "A new year, a new you? Heterogeneity and self-control in food purchases," CEPR Discussion Papers 12499, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Dohmen, Thomas & Khamis, Melanie & Lehmann, Hartmut & Pignatti, Norberto, 2023. "Risk Attitudes and Informal Employment in Ukraine," IZA Discussion Papers 16445, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Eber, Nicolas & François, Abel & Weill, Laurent, 2021. "Gender, age, and attitude toward competition," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 668-690.
    12. Muminović Adnan, 2023. "Not Just Empty Rhetoric: The Economic Cost of Warmongering in a Post-Conflict Environment," South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 18(2), pages 112-125, December.
    13. Szanyi-Nagy, Sára & Vaskövi, Ágnes, 2021. "Hogyan élnek az európai nyugdíjasok? Egyéni szintű különbözőségek vizsgálata SHARE-adatok alapján [European quality of life in retirement. Analysing personal differences through SHARE data]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(12), pages 1336-1363.
    14. Bernd Fitzenberger & Gary Mena & Jan Nimczik & Uwe Sunde, 2022. "Personality Traits Across the Life Cycle: Disentangling Age, Period and Cohort Effects," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(646), pages 2141-2172.
    15. Andrew W. Lo & H. Allen Orr & Ruixun Zhang, 2018. "The growth of relative wealth and the Kelly criterion," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 49-67, April.
    16. Vladimir Gimpelson, 2019. "Age and Wage: Stylized Facts and Russian Evidence," HSE Economic Journal, National Research University Higher School of Economics, vol. 23(2), pages 185-237.
    17. Jetter, Michael & Magnusson, Leandro M. & Roth, Sebastian, 2020. "Becoming sensitive: Males’ risk and time preferences after the 2008 financial crisis," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    18. Schipper, Burkhard C., 2023. "Sex hormones and choice under risk," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    19. Alves, Guillermo & Blanchard, Pablo & Burdin, Gabriel & Chávez, Mariana & Dean, Andrés, 2022. "Like principal, like agent? Managerial preferences in employee-owned firms," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(6), pages 877-899, December.
    20. Muna Sharma & Swarn Chatterjee, 2021. "Cognitive Functioning: An Underlying Mechanism of Age and Gender Differences in Self-Assessed Risk Tolerance among an Aging Population," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-9, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Evolution; Attitudes to risk; Aggregate; Idiosyncratic; Life cycle; Age structure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B52 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Modern Monetary Theory;
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jetheo:v:181:y:2019:i:c:p:44-81. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622869 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.