This paper investigates how loss-aversion affects individuals' decisions on savings and insurance purchase. Specifically, this paper empirically tests if prospect theory's loss aversion decreases insurance demand and increases savings demand. Prospect theory predicts that boundedly rational...

We examine the flood insurance decisions of over 100,000 households, using standard expected utility models and rank dependent utility models that incorporate probability distortions. Consumers' insurance choices provide important insights into their risk attitudes. Previous research has...

Auch in Deutschland kam es in den letzten Jahren vermehrt zu Hochwasserereignissen mit erheblichen ökonomischen Schäden. Die privaten Haushalte sind auf derartige Katastrophen oft schlecht vorbereitet, da ihnen gar nicht bekannt ist, dass ihre Wohngebäude- oder Hausratversicherung in solchen...

Auch in Deutschland kam es in den letzten Jahren vermehrt zu Hochwasserereignissen mit erheblichen ökonomischen Schäden. Die privaten Haushalte sind auf derartige Katastrophen oft schlecht vorbereitet, da ihnen gar nicht bekannt ist, dass ihre Wohngebäude- oder Hausratversicherung in solchen...

This study uses a national dataset to examine the association among risk tolerance, financial literacy, and goals-based savings behavior of households. The results indicate that three out of five households do not have any emergency funds set aside, and about half the households have not...

How quickly does marginal utility fall with increasing consumption? It depends on the dimension along which we consider concavity of the utility function. This paper estimates the distribution of heterogeneous curvature parameters in individuals' utility functions from hypothetical choice data,...

Around 3 billion people in developing countries rely on woodfuels for their daily cooking needs with profound negative implications for their workload, health, and budget as well as the environment. Improved cookstove (ICS) technologies in many cases appear to be an obvious solution. Despite...

We examine the relationship between household wealth and self-control. Although self-control has been linked to consumption and financial behavior, its measurement remains an open issue. We employ a definition of self-control failure that follows literature in psychology, suggesting that three...

The provision of feedback about individual electricity consumption is a widely used approach to promote pro-environmental behavior. This form of feedback typically invokes social comparisons by informing households about their aggregate electricity consumption relative to others. While previous...

Around 3 billion people in developing countries rely on woodfuels for their daily cooking needs with profound negative implications for their workload, health, and budget as well as the environment. Improved cooking stove (ICS) technologies appear to be an obvious solution in many cases. In...