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Ladies and Gentlemen: Gender Identity and Financial Risk-Taking

Author

Listed:
  • Zetterdahl, Emma

    (Department of Economics, Umeå School of Business and Economics)

  • Hellström, Jörgen

    (Umeå School of Business and Economics)

Abstract

Novel empirical evidence indicates the importance of gender identity and gender norms on individuals’ financial risk-taking. Specifically, by use of matching and by dividing male and females into those with “traditional” versus “nontraditional” gender identities, comparison of average risk-taking between groupings indicate that over a third (about 35-40%) of the identified total gender risk differential is explained by differences in gender identities. Results further indicate that risky financial market participation is 19 percentage points higher in groups of women with nontraditional, compared with traditional, gender identities. The results, obtained while conditioning upon a vast number of controls, are robust towards a large number of alternative explanations and indicate that some individuals (mainly women) partly are fostered by society, through identity formation and socially constructed norms, to a relatively lower financial risk-taking.

Suggested Citation

  • Zetterdahl, Emma & Hellström, Jörgen, 2015. "Ladies and Gentlemen: Gender Identity and Financial Risk-Taking," Umeå Economic Studies 905, Umeå University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:umnees:0905
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender Identity; Financial Risk-Taking; Risky Share; Asset Allocation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • G02 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Behavioral Finance: Underlying Principles
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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