Eliciting risk preferences that predict risky health behavior: A comparison of two approaches

Child gender and differences in risky health behavior among parents

This paper documents differences in health outcomes and behaviors between parents who raise daughters and those who raise sons. Using Australian panel data from 2001 to 2019, we use OLS regression models to show that parents with daughters are physically healthier, a result linked to a reduced tendency to engage in risky behaviors such as binge drinking and smoking. The random nature of child gender implies our outcome gaps are likely to be causal, and the estimates survive a collection of diagnostics related to identification. We search for evidence that these effects occur via a general change in risk aversion, but this hypothesis is not supported. Fathers with daughters are actually more risk-seeking in both their broader life attitudes, and in their views on financial investment. We argue that this heterogeneity may come from a "breadwinner" effect, as part of a set of gender-varying norms around socially acceptable risk-taking.

The Intergenerational Transmission of Risk Preferences: Evidence from Field Experiments in China and Korea

In this study, we conduct field experiments with 196 worker-parent pairs from two companies in China and South Korea and explore factors that affect the similarity of risk preferences between parents and their offspring. In the Chinese data, we show more similar risk preferences between parents and their offspring when there are higher levels of parental involvement and financial parenting. In contrast, in the Korean data, a more demanding parenting style contributes to intergenerational transmission. These effects are mainly captured by the intergenerational transmission from Chinese mothers to their offspring and from Korean fathers to their offspring. In addition, we find that in our study, same-gender transmission contributes highly to intergenerational transmission, and the risk preferences of Chinese workers and their parents are more similar than those of Korean workers and their parents. We also discuss potential differences in the intergenerational transmission of risk preferences between China and Korea and Western countries. Our study provides a better understanding of the formation of individuals' risk preferences.