Individual preferences with respect to risk taking play an important role in financial economic behaviour and, hence, in financial markets. Using German microdata, we argue that individual religiosity is a determinant of household willingness to take risks, since it shapes relevant individual...

Assuming that certain religious beliefs, as a proxy for one's cultural background, may inhibit wealth accumulation, individual savings behavior in the USA with its vital religious market is examined. Using data from the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), I found notable differences in...

This paper provides a joint analysis of household stockholding participation, stock location among stockholding modes, and participation spillovers, using data from the US Survey of Consumer Finances. Our multivariate choice model matches observed participation rates, conditional and...

We investigate, using the 2002 US Health and Retirement Study, the factors influencing individuals' insecurity and expectations about terrorism, and study the effects these last have on households' portfolio choices and spending patterns. We find that females, the religiously devout, those...

We investigate US households' direct investment in stocks, bonds and liquid accounts and their foreign counterparts, in order to identify the different participation hurdles affecting asset investment domestically and overseas. To this end, we estimate a trivariate probit model with three...

We extend gender research on risk behavior to betting markets. Our data set consists of all 5,136,660 bets in New Zealand from 2006 to 2009 and allows assigning each bet to individ-ual bettors. Women are much more prone to the favorite-longshot bias and suffer higher losses. Usually, betting on...

Why do some people make better financial decisions than others do? The level of financial literacy plays an important role: Quality schooling that also deals with financial issues likewise leads to better financial decisions. However, many studies neglect how parenting also influences financial...

Warum treffen manche Leute bessere finanzielle Entscheidungen als andere? Eine wichtige Rolle spielt dabei das Niveau der Finanzbildung. Eine gute Schulbildung, die sich auch mit wirtschaftlichen Fragestellungen auseinandersetzt, führt ebenfalls zu besseren Finanzentscheidungen. Viele Studien...

We study an investment experiment conducted with a representative sample of German households. Respondents invest in a safe asset and a risky asset whose return is tied to the German stock market. Experimental investments correlate with beliefs about stock market returns and exhibit desirable...