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Information Aversion

Author

Listed:
  • Marianne Andries

    (TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - Comue de Toulouse - Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

  • Valentin Haddad

    (UCLA - University of California [Los Angeles] - UC - University of California)

Abstract

Information aversion, a preference-based fear of news flows, has rich implications for decisions involving information and risk-taking. It can explain key empirical patterns on how households pay attention to savings, namely that investors observe their portfolios infrequently, particularly when stock prices are low or volatile. Receiving state-dependent alerts following sharp market downturns such as during the financial crisis of 2008 improves welfare. Information averse investors display an ostrich behavior: overhearing negative news prompts more inattention. Their fear of frequent news encourages them to hold undiversified portfolios.

Suggested Citation

  • Marianne Andries & Valentin Haddad, 2020. "Information Aversion," Post-Print hal-03052577, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03052577
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    Cited by:

    1. Maryam Farboodi & Adrien Matray & Laura Veldkamp & Venky Venkateswaran, 2022. "Where Has All the Data Gone?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 35(7), pages 3101-3138.
    2. Umar, Tarik, 2022. "Complexity aversion when SeekingAlpha," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2).
    3. Maryam Farboodi & Adrien Matray & Laura Veldkamp & Venky Venkateswaran, 2020. "Where Has All the Data Gone?," NBER Working Papers 26927, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Han, Leyla Jianyu & Kasa, Kenneth & Luo, Yulei, 2024. "Ambiguity, information processing, and financial intermediation," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    5. Qadan, Mahmoud & Zoua’bi, Maher, 2019. "Financial attention and the demand for information," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    6. Cujean, Julien & Bustamante, Maria Cecilia & Frésard, Laurent, 2019. "Knowledge Cycles and Corporate Investment," CEPR Discussion Papers 14152, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Moritz Mosenhauer, 2022. "Salience and management‐by‐exception," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 3685-3697, December.
    8. Chadi, Adrian & Homolka, Konstantin, 2022. "Little Lies and Blind Eyes – Experimental Evidence on Cheating and Task Performance in Work Groups," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 122-159.
    9. Lisa Bruttel & Werner Güth & Ralph Hertwig & Andreas Orland, 2020. "Do people harness deliberate ignorance to avoid envy and its detrimental effects?," CEPA Discussion Papers 17, Center for Economic Policy Analysis.
    10. Kops, Christopher & Pasichnichenko, Illia, 2023. "Testing negative value of information and ambiguity aversion," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    11. Rocco Zizzamia, 2025. "Ignorance is bliss? Rejection and discouragement in on-the-job search," CSAE Working Paper Series 2025-06, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    12. Andries, Marianne & Bianchi, Milo & Huynh, Karen & Pouget, Sebastien, 2024. "Return Predictability, Expectations, and Investment: Experimental Evidence," CEPR Discussion Papers 19239, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. Edika Quispe-Torreblanca & John Gathergood & George Loewenstein & Neil Stewart, 2020. "Attention Utility: Evidence from Individual Investors," CESifo Working Paper Series 8091, CESifo.
    14. Yaoyao Wu, 2022. "Disappointment aversion in tournaments," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(1), pages 26-30, January.
    15. Xavier Gabaix, 2017. "Behavioral Inattention," NBER Working Papers 24096, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Wen-Jhan Jane, 2025. "Interim information and managerial risk taking in professional basketball," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 76(1), pages 163-194, January.
    17. Russell Golman & George Loewenstein & Andras Molnar & Silvia Saccardo, 2022. "The Demand for, and Avoidance of, Information," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(9), pages 6454-6476, September.
    18. Aharon, David Y. & Qadan, Mahmoud, 2018. "What drives the demand for information in the commodity market?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 532-543.
    19. Adams, Paul & Hunt, Stefan & Palmer, Christopher & Zaliauskas, Redis, 2021. "Testing the effectiveness of consumer financial disclosure: Experimental evidence from savings accounts," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(1), pages 122-147.
    20. Daniele Pennesi, 2020. "Identity and information acquisition," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 610, Collegio Carlo Alberto, revised 2021.
    21. Thomas M. Eisenbach & Martin C. Schmalz, 2015. "Anxiety and pro-cyclical risk taking with Bayesian agents," Staff Reports 711, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    22. Zijian Zark Wang, 2025. "An Attentional Model of Time Discounting," Papers 2505.13016, arXiv.org.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E03 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Behavioral Macroeconomics
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • G02 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Behavioral Finance: Underlying Principles
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions

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