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Decision making for others: The case of loss aversion

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  • Füllbrunn, Sascha C.
  • Luhan, Wolfgang J.

Abstract

Risky decisions are at the core of economic theory. While many of these decisions are taken on behalf of others rather than for oneself, the existing literature finds mixed results on whether people take more or less risk for others then for themselves. Recent studies suggest that taking decisions for others reduces loss aversion, thereby increasing risk taking on behalf of others. To test this, we elicit loss aversion in three treatments: making risky decisions for oneself, for one other subject, or for the decision maker and another person combined. We find a clear treatment effect when making decisions for others but not when making decisions for both.

Suggested Citation

  • Füllbrunn, Sascha C. & Luhan, Wolfgang J., 2017. "Decision making for others: The case of loss aversion," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 154-156.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:161:y:2017:i:c:p:154-156
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2017.09.037
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    Cited by:

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    11. Montinari, Natalia & Rancan, Michela, 2020. "A friend is a treasure: On the interplay of social distance and monetary incentives when risk is taken on behalf of others," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    12. Bate Adisu Fanta, 2022. "The Nexus between Uncertainty Avoidance Culture and Risk-taking Behaviour in Entrepreneurial Firms’ Decision Making," Journal of Intercultural Management, Sciendo, vol. 14(1), pages 104-132, March.
    13. Jones, Luke & Cseh, Attila, 2021. "Earning responsibility increases risk taking among representative decision makers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 317-329.
    14. Xu, Yilong & Xu, Xiaogeng & Tucker, Steven, 2018. "Ambiguity attitudes in the loss domain: Decisions for self versus others," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 100-103.
    15. Füllbrunn, Sascha & Luhan, Wolfgang J., 2020. "Responsibility and limited liability in decision making for others – An experimental consideration," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    16. Michael Kirchler & Florian Lindner & Utz Weitzel, 2018. "Delegated Decision Making and Social Competition in the Finance Industry," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2018_08, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    17. Anna M. Deptuła & Michał Stosiak & Adam Deptuła & Marek Lubecki & Mykola Karpenko & Paulius Skačkauskas & Kamil Urbanowicz & Algimantas Danilevičius, 2022. "Risk Assessment of Innovation Prototype for the Example Hydraulic Cylinder," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-20, December.
    18. Cerrone, Claudia & Engel, Christoph, 2019. "Deciding on behalf of others does not mitigate selfishness," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 1-1.
    19. Waichman, Israel & Blanckenburg, Korbinian von, 2020. "Is there no “I” in “Team”? Interindividual-intergroup discontinuity effect in a Cournot competition experiment," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    20. Jan (J.P.M.) Heufer & Jason Shachat & Yan Xu, 2018. "Measuring tastes for equity and aggregate wealth behind the veil of ignorance," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 18-087/I, Tinbergen Institute.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Decision making for others; Risk taking; Loss aversion; Experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C9 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments
    • D3 - Microeconomics - - Distribution
    • D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty

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