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Are Attitudes Towards Economic Risk Heritable? Analyses Using the Australian Twin Study of Gambling

Author

Listed:
  • Le, Anh T.

    (Curtin University)

  • Miller, Paul W.

    (Curtin University)

  • Slutske, Wendy S.

    (University of Missouri-Columbia)

  • Martin, Nicholas G.

    (Queensland Institute of Medical Research)

Abstract

This study employs multiple regression models based on DeFries and Fulker (1985), and a large sample of twins, to assess heritability in attitudes towards economic risk, and the extent to which this heritability differs between males and females. Consistent with Cesarini, Dawes, Johannesson, Lichtenstein and Wallace (2009), it is found that attitudes towards risk are moderately heritable, with about 20 percent of the variation in these attitudes across individuals being linked to genetic differences. This value is less than one-half the estimates reported by Zyphur, Narayanan, Arvey and Alexander (2009) and Zhong, Chew, Set, Zhang, Xue, Sham, Ebstein and Israel (2009). While females are more risk averse than males, there is no evidence that heritability in attitudes towards risk differs between males and females. Even though heritability is shown to be important to economic risk taking, the analyses suggest that multivariate studies of the determinants of attitudes towards risk which to not take heritability into consideration still provide reliable estimates of the partial effects of other key variables, such as gender and educational attainment.

Suggested Citation

  • Le, Anh T. & Miller, Paul W. & Slutske, Wendy S. & Martin, Nicholas G., 2010. "Are Attitudes Towards Economic Risk Heritable? Analyses Using the Australian Twin Study of Gambling," IZA Discussion Papers 4859, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4859
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anh T. Le & Paul W. Miller & Wendy S. Slutske & Nicholas G. Martin, 2014. "Attitudes Toward Economic Risk and Occupational Choice," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 568-592, October.
    2. Francisco Molins & Fatmanur Sahin & Miguel Ángel Serrano, 2022. "The Genetics of Risk Aversion: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-22, November.
    3. Le, Anh T. & Miller, Paul W. & Slutske, Wendy S. & Martin, Nicholas G., 2011. "Attitudes towards economic risk and the gender pay gap," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 555-561, August.
    4. Thomas Meissner & Xavier Gassmann & Corinne Faure & Joachim Schleich, 2023. "Individual characteristics associated with risk and time preferences: A multi country representative survey," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 66(1), pages 77-107, February.
    5. Necker, Sarah & Voskort, Andrea, 2014. "Intergenerational transmission of risk attitudes – A revealed preference approach," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 66-89.
    6. Kettlewell, Nathan & Tymula, Agnieszka, 2021. "The Australian Twins Economic Preferences Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 14702, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Kettlewell, Nathan, 2019. "Risk preference dynamics around life events," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 66-84.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    risk; heritability; gender;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G00 - Financial Economics - - General - - - General
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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