IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jjrfmx/v15y2022i4p161-d785027.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Household Portfolio Allocations: Evidence on Risk Preferences from the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey Using Tobit Models

Author

Listed:
  • Safdar Ullah Khan

    (Bond Business School, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD 4229, Australia
    Economy, Planning and Environment, City of Gold Coast (CoGC), Gold Coast, QLD 9726, Australia)

  • Satyanarayana Ramella

    (Department of Business Administration, Southwestern Adventist University, Keene, TX 76059, USA)

  • Habib Ur Rahman

    (Faculty of Higher Education (Accounting and Finance), Holmes Institute, Gold Coast, QLD 4217, Australia)

  • Zulfiqar Hyder

    (Research Department, State Bank of Pakistan (Central Bank), Karachi 74000, Sindh, Pakistan)

Abstract

This study investigates intrahousehold risk preferences in household portfolio decision-making. Most household finance data are collected at the household level, and it is challenging to come up with an explanation of risk-taking decisions and have a direction on the within-household bargaining mechanisms. We provide these challenging pieces of evidence by applying a Tobit model on panel data taken from waves 2 to 6 of HILDA surveys. Overall, the results indicate that the risk-taking attitude of partners matters in household portfolio allocations. Risk-averse males and their female counterparts invest less in risky assets. Compared with the no-conflict (identical risk preferences) group, male partners with risk-loving behaviour tend to invest more in risky assets. Further, individual risk preferences are sensitive to fluctuations in equity and housing markets in Australia. Taken together, one of the crucial implications of our findings for future research is that household-bargaining models should, perhaps, give more bargaining power to risk-loving males, offering an additional explanation for the determinants of risk-taking behaviour of households. Understanding the risk-taking attitudes of households is important for future work to understand the fraction of households that end up with a negative net worth in recessions or crisis conditions, such as financial crises, pandemics, and wars.

Suggested Citation

  • Safdar Ullah Khan & Satyanarayana Ramella & Habib Ur Rahman & Zulfiqar Hyder, 2022. "Household Portfolio Allocations: Evidence on Risk Preferences from the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey Using Tobit Models," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-13, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:15:y:2022:i:4:p:161-:d:785027
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/15/4/161/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/15/4/161/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cardak, Buly A. & Wilkins, Roger, 2009. "The determinants of household risky asset holdings: Australian evidence on background risk and other factors," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 850-860, May.
    2. André Palma & Nathalie Picard & Anthony Ziegelmeyer, 2011. "Individual and couple decision behavior under risk: evidence on the dynamics of power balance," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 70(1), pages 45-64, January.
    3. Dekui Jia & Ruihai Li & Shibo Bian & Christopher Gan, 2021. "Financial Planning Ability, Risk Perception and Household Portfolio Choice," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(8), pages 2153-2175, June.
    4. King, Mervyn A. & Leape, Jonathan I., 1998. "Wealth and portfolio composition: Theory and evidence," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 155-193, June.
    5. Rosen, H.S.Harvey S. & Wu, Stephen, 2004. "Portfolio choice and health status," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(3), pages 457-484, June.
    6. Luigi Guiso & Monica Paiella, 2008. "Risk Aversion, Wealth, and Background Risk," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 6(6), pages 1109-1150, December.
    7. Jones, A.M.; & Rice, N.; & Robone, S.;, 2018. "The effect of health shocks on financial risk preferences differs by personality traits," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 18/07, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    8. Lewellen, Wilbur G & Lease, Ronald C & Schlarbaum, Gary G, 1977. "Patterns of Investment Strategy and Behavior among Individual Investors," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 50(3), pages 296-333, July.
    9. Bollen, Nicolas P.B. & Posavac, Steven, 2018. "Gender, risk tolerance, and false consensus in asset allocation recommendations," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 304-317.
    10. Martin Browning, 2000. "The Saving Behaviour of a Two‐person Household," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 102(2), pages 235-251, June.
    11. Gürdal, Mehmet Y. & Kuzubaş, Tolga U. & Saltoğlu, Burak, 2017. "Measures of individual risk attitudes and portfolio choice: Evidence from pension participants," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 186-203.
    12. Carlsson, Fredrik & He, Haoran & Martinsson, Peter & Qin, Ping & Sutter, Matthias, 2012. "Household decision making in rural China: Using experiments to estimate the influences of spouses," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 525-536.
    13. Jianakoplos, Nancy Ammon & Bernasek, Alexandra, 1998. "Are Women More Risk Averse?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(4), pages 620-630, October.
    14. Li, Jianjun & Li, Qize & Wei, Xu, 2020. "Financial literacy, household portfolio choice and investment return," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    15. Tracey West & Andrew Worthington, 2014. "Macroeconomic Conditions and Australian Financial Risk Attitudes, 2001–2010," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 263-277, June.
    16. Fan, Elliott & Zhao, Ruoyun, 2009. "Health status and portfolio choice: Causality or heterogeneity?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1079-1088, June.
    17. Ian Bateman & Alistair Munro, 2005. "An Experiment on Risky Choice Amongst Households," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(502), pages 176-189, March.
    18. Berkowitz, Michael K. & Qiu, Jiaping, 2006. "A further look at household portfolio choice and health status," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 1201-1217, April.
    19. Robert B. Barsky & F. Thomas Juster & Miles S. Kimball & Matthew D. Shapiro, 1997. "Preference Parameters and Behavioral Heterogeneity: An Experimental Approach in the Health and Retirement Study," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(2), pages 537-579.
    20. Jiang, Chonghui & Ma, Yongkai & An, Yunbi, 2010. "An analysis of portfolio selection with background risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 3055-3060, December.
    21. Julie R. Agnew & Lisa R. Anderson & Jeffrey R. Gerlach & Lisa R. Szykman, 2008. "Who Chooses Annuities? An Experimental Investigation of the Role of Gender, Framing, and Defaults," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 418-422, May.
    22. Xiaonan Chen & Jianfeng Song, 2022. "Influence Path Analysis of Rural Household Portfolio Selection: A Empirical Study Using Structural Equation Modelling Method," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 64(2), pages 298-322, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ivan Skliarov & ?ukasz Goczek, 2024. "What Makes a Household Wealthy? Is it Reckless Risk-Taking or Careful Planning?," LWS Working papers 42, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    2. Ronald Ravinesh Kumar & Peter Josef Stauvermann, 2022. "Portfolios under Different Methods and Scenarios: A Case of Fiji’s South Pacific Stock Exchange," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-27, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lijuan Xu & Abbas Ali Chandio & Jingyi Wang & Yuansheng Jiang, 2022. "Does Farmland Tenancy Improve Household Asset Allocation? Evidence from Rural China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-22, December.
    2. Raslan Alzuabi & Sarah Brown & Mark N. Harris & Karl Taylor, 2024. "Modelling the composition of household portfolios: A latent class approach," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 57(1), pages 243-275, February.
    3. Xu, Guo & Wing-Keung, Wong & Lixing, Zhu, 2013. "Comparisons and Characterizations of the Mean-Variance, Mean-VaR, Mean-CVaR Models for Portfolio Selection With Background Risk," MPRA Paper 51827, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Stefani Milovanska-Farrington & Stephen Farrington, 2021. "Discipline, risk, and the endogeneity between financial decisionmaking and health," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 45(4), pages 596-636, October.
    5. Sarah Brown & Dan Gray & Mark N. Harris & Christopher Spencer, 2016. "Portfolio Allocation, Income Uncertainty and Households' Flight from Risk," Working Papers 2016012, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.
    6. Brown, Sarah & Gray, Daniel & Harris, Mark N. & Spencer, Christopher, 2021. "Household portfolio allocation, uncertainty, and risk," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 96-117.
    7. Tansel Yilmazer & Stephen Lich, 2015. "Portfolio choice and risk attitudes: a household bargaining approach," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 219-241, June.
    8. Angrisani, Marco & Atella, Vincenzo & Brunetti, Marianna, 2018. "Public health insurance and household portfolio Choices: Unravelling financial “Side Effects” of Medicare," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 198-212.
    9. Xinxin Ma, 2022. "Social Insurances and Risky Financial Market Participation: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(10), pages 2957-2975, August.
    10. Inmaculada Aguiar-Díaz & María Victoria Ruiz-Mallorqui, 2022. "Private Health Insurance and Financial Risk Taking in Spain—The Moderating Effect of Subjective Risk Tolerance," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-13, December.
    11. J. François Outreville, 2015. "The Relationship Between Relative Risk Aversion And The Level Of Education: A Survey And Implications For The Demand For Life Insurance," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 97-111, February.
    12. Raslan Alzuabi & Sarah Brown & Daniel Gray & Mark N Harris & Christopher Spencer, 2022. "Household saving, health, and healthcare utilization in Japan [Stature, obesity, and portfolio choice]," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 74(2), pages 473-497.
    13. Vicki L. Bogan & Angela R. Fertig, 2013. "Portfolio Choice and Mental Health," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 17(3), pages 955-992.
    14. Li, Qize & Brounen, Dirk & Li, Jianjun & Wei, Xu, 2022. "Social interactions and Chinese households’ participation in the risky financial market," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    15. Li, Jingrong & Mi, Xinyu & Zhang, Chenlei & Qin, Yanran, 2024. "Social pension insurance and household risky asset investment: Evidence from China," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 219-233.
    16. Banks, James & Bassoli, Elena & Mammi, Irene, 2020. "Changing attitudes to risk at older ages: The role of health and other life events," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    17. Zhongda Li & Lu Liu & Jiayu Shi & Yubing Sui, 2021. "Health insurance, risk attitudes, and household financial behavior," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(5), pages 1239-1246, May.
    18. Moawia Alghalith & Xu Guo & Wing-Keung Wong & Lixing Zhu, 2016. "A General Optimal Investment Model In The Presence Of Background Risk," Annals of Financial Economics (AFE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 11(01), pages 1-8, March.
    19. James Banks & Elena Bassoli & Irene Mammi, 2019. "Changing Risk Preferences at Older Ages," Working Papers 2019:01, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    20. Vega, Alejandro & Velli, Evangelia, 2020. "Health and the share of wealth held in risky assets," Umeå Economic Studies 972, Umeå University, Department of Economics.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:15:y:2022:i:4:p:161-:d:785027. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.