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Altruistic Giving and Risk Taking in Human Affairs

Author

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  • Stark, Oded

    (University of Bonn)

  • Balbus, Lukasz

    (University of Zielona Gora)

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide a general proposition of the relationship between altruism and risk taking. As explained in the body of the paper, we diverge from a result reported in Stark et al. (2022) and provide an expansion and a generalization of a preliminary result reported in Stark (2024). In a broad utility framework, we study the risk aversion of an altruistic person who is an active donor (benefactor) and the risk aversion of a beneficiary of an altruistic transfer. In both cases, we find that altruism lowers risk aversion. The specific case in which the utility functions of the benefactor and of the beneficiary are constant relative risk aversion (CRRA) functions constitutes a vivid example of lesser risk aversion characterization. We conclude that in terms of risk-taking behavior, a "population" endowed with altruism is uniformly more willing to take risks than a comparable "population" devoid of altruism.

Suggested Citation

  • Stark, Oded & Balbus, Lukasz, 2024. "Altruistic Giving and Risk Taking in Human Affairs," IZA Discussion Papers 17506, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17506
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Oded Stark, 2020. "Relative deprivation as a cause of risky behaviors," The Journal of Mathematical Sociology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(3), pages 138-146, July.
    2. Renaud Bourlès & Yann Bramoullé & Eduardo Perez-Richet, 2021. "Altruism and Risk Sharing in Networks," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 19(3), pages 1488-1521.
    3. Oded Stark, 2024. "Can altruism lead to a willingness to take risks?," The Journal of Mathematical Sociology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(2), pages 272-278, April.
    4. Oded STARK & Krzysztof SZCZYGIELSKI, 2019. "The Likelihood of Divorce and the Riskiness of Financial Decisions," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 85(3), pages 209-229, September.
    5. Stark, Oded & Budzinski, Wiktor & Jakubek, Marcin, 2019. "Pure rank preferences and variation in risk-taking behavior," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    6. Stark, Oded & Budzinski, Wiktor & Jakubek, Marcin, 2022. "Risk aversion when preferences are altruistic," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    7. Stark, Oded & Zawojska, Ewa, 2015. "Gender differentiation in risk-taking behavior: On the relative risk aversion of single men and single women," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 83-87.
    8. Bernheim, B Douglas & Stark, Oded, 1988. "Altruism within the Family Reconsidered: Do Nice Guys Finish Last?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(5), pages 1034-1045, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    altruism; altruistic transfers; the absolute risk aversion of a practicing altruistic person; intensity of altruism; variation in risk-taking preferences; the absolute risk aversion of a beneficiary of an altruistic transfer;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • G41 - Financial Economics - - Behavioral Finance - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making in Financial Markets

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