Intergenerational Transmission of Risk Attitudes: A Revealed Preference Approach

Arbeitspapier

This study investigates whether the willingness to take income risks revealed by occupational choice is transmitted from parents to their children. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we find that fathers' riskiness of job is a significant determinant of children's occupational risk, in particular sons' (excluding parent-child pairs with identical occupations). This is the first piece of evidence for intergenerational transmission of risk attitudes relying on real world behavior. It shows that not only individuals' own assessments of their risk attitudes correlate (found by previous studies) but also risk preferences shown in exactly the same situation.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research ; No. 412

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis ; Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
• Subject: Risk preferences ; intergenerational transmission ; occupational choice ; Risikopräferenz ; Generationengerechtigkeit ; Offenbarte Präferenzen ; Deutschland

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Leuermann, Andrea ; Necker, Sarah
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW)
• (where): Berlin
• (when): 2011

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/150957
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET