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Heterogeneous Background Risks and Portfolio Choice: Evidence from Micro‐level Data

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  • DARIUS PALIA
  • YAXUAN QI
  • YANGRU WU

Abstract

We construct a set of household‐level background risk variables to capture the covariance structure of three nonfinancial assets and two financial assets. These risks are in general statistically significant and economically important for a household's stock market participation and stockholdings. A one‐standard‐deviation increase in background risks reduces the participation probability by 11% and the stockholdings‐to‐wealth ratio by 4%. The volatilities of labor income, housing value, and business income reduce a household's participation and stockholdings. A household with labor income highly correlated with stock (bond) returns is less (more) likely to invest in stock.

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  • Darius Palia & Yaxuan Qi & Yangru Wu, 2014. "Heterogeneous Background Risks and Portfolio Choice: Evidence from Micro‐level Data," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(8), pages 1687-1720, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jmoncb:v:46:y:2014:i:8:p:1687-1720
    DOI: 10.1111/jmcb.12163
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    2. Laurent E. Calvet & Paolo Sodini, 2014. "Twin Picks: Disentangling the Determinants of Risk-Taking in Household Portfolios," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(2), pages 867-906, April.
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    5. Suen, Richard M.H., 2018. "Standard risk aversion and efficient risk sharing," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 23-26.
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    12. Ellora Derenoncourt & Chi Hyun Kim & Moritz Kuhn & Moritz Schularick, 2023. "Unemployment Risk, Portfolio Choice, and the Racial Wealth Gap," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 265, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    13. Andrei Semenov, 2017. "Background risk in consumption and the equity risk premium," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 407-439, February.
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    16. James J. Choi & Adriana Z. Robertson, 2020. "What Matters to Individual Investors? Evidence from the Horse's Mouth," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 75(4), pages 1965-2020, August.
    17. Kong, Dongmin & Cheng, Yawen & Liu, Shasha, 2021. "Unexpected housing wealth appreciation and stock market participation," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    18. Yongsung Chang & Jay Hong & Marios Karabarbounis & Yicheng Wang & Tao Zhang, 2022. "Income Volatility and Portfolio Choices," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 44, pages 65-90, April.
    19. Bender, Svetlana & Choi, James J. & Dyson, Danielle & Robertson, Adriana Z., 2022. "Millionaires speak: What drives their personal investment decisions?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(1), pages 305-330.
    20. Brown, Sarah & Gray, Daniel & Harris, Mark N. & Spencer, Christopher, 2016. "Portfolio Allocation, Income Uncertainty and Households' Flight from Risk," IZA Discussion Papers 10408, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Gao, Xiang & Sun, Li, 2021. "Modeling retirees’ investment behaviors in the presence of health expenditure risk and financial crisis risk," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 442-454.
    22. Beckmann, Elisabeth & Mare, Davide Salvatore, 2017. "Formal and informal household savings: how does trust in financial institutions influence the choice of saving instruments?," MPRA Paper 81141, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    23. Brown, Sarah & Gray, Daniel & Harris, Mark N. & Spencer, Christopher, 2021. "Household portfolio allocation, uncertainty, and risk," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 96-117.

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