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Fatalism and savings

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  • Shapiro, Joel
  • Wu, Stephen

Abstract

An individual’s decision about how much to save depends on her perception of how current savings affects future well-being. Fatalistic individuals believe that they have little or no control over future outcomes. We develop a theoretical model linking fatalism to savings and test the predictions using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). The model predicts that fatalism decreases savings for moderately risk averse individuals, but actually increases savings for highly risk averse individuals. Furthermore, fatalism decreases effort in learning about savings and investment options. The empirical results support the theoretical predictions of the model and are robust to the inclusion of a number of additional control variables.

Suggested Citation

  • Shapiro, Joel & Wu, Stephen, 2011. "Fatalism and savings," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 645-651.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:40:y:2011:i:5:p:645-651
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2011.05.003
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    17. Wu, Stephen, 2003. "Sickness and preventive medical behavior," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 675-689, July.
    18. Wu Stephen, 2005. "Fatalistic Tendencies: An Explanation of Why People Don't Save," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 1-23, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Camelia M. Kuhnen & Brian T. Melzer, 2018. "Noncognitive Abilities and Financial Delinquency: The Role of Self‐Efficacy in Avoiding Financial Distress," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 73(6), pages 2837-2869, December.
    2. Nicholas W. Papageorge & Matthew V. Zahn & Michèle Belot & Eline Broek-Altenburg & Syngjoo Choi & Julian C. Jamison & Egon Tripodi, 2021. "Socio-demographic factors associated with self-protecting behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(2), pages 691-738, April.
    3. Tamar CHKHAIDZE & Dimitri CHUBINIDZE & Elisabed GEGENAVA, 2019. "Fatalism €“ Georgian Cultural Model," Prizren Social Science Journal, SHIKS, vol. 3(3), pages 41-52, December.
    4. Ludek Kouba & Hans Pitlik, 2014. "I wanna live my life: Locus of Control and Support for the Welfare State," MENDELU Working Papers in Business and Economics 2014-46, Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Business and Economics.
    5. Jesper Akesson & Sam Ashworth-Hayes & Robert Hahn & Robert Metcalfe & Itzhak Rasooly, 2022. "Fatalism, beliefs, and behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 64(2), pages 147-190, April.
    6. Ruiu, Gabriele, 2012. "Is fatalism a cultural belief? An empirical analysis on the origin of fatalistic tendencies," MPRA Paper 41705, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Konstantin Matthies & Flavio Toxvaerd, 2023. "Rather doomed than uncertain: risk attitudes and transmissive behavior under asymptomatic infection," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 76(1), pages 1-44, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fatalism; Saving; Risk aversion;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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