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Labor income risk and the reluctance of fouseholds to invest in risky financial assets: A panel data analysis

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  • Becker, Gideon
  • Dimpfl, Thomas

Abstract

We investigate the determinants of a household's decision on whether to invest in risky financial assets. Financial theory suggests that with increasing labor income risk, the reluctance of households to hold stocks increases. We propose to measure income risk as the observed variation of household income over a five year period. We find that indeed higher income risk reduces the propensity to invest in stocks. However, when controlling for household heterogeneity as well as subjective measures of a household's financial situation (income satisfaction, worries about financial situation), the impact of observed labor income variation vanishes.

Suggested Citation

  • Becker, Gideon & Dimpfl, Thomas, 2014. "Labor income risk and the reluctance of fouseholds to invest in risky financial assets: A panel data analysis," University of Tübingen Working Papers in Business and Economics 72, University of Tuebingen, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, School of Business and Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:tuewef:72
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    household finance; risky asset market participation; labor income risk; behavioral finance; unobserved heterogeneity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions

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