The impact of gender and age on risk-taking attitudes

Abstract

This paper investigates the extent of gender difference in attitudes towards risk, and its persistence across age-cohorts. Pooled micro data based on Canadian Surveys of Household Spending, conducted annually from 1996 to 2009, are used to estimate a multivariate regression equation. Also, by creating a panel data and using random effect method, presence of any statistically significant difference across Canadian provinces in insurance spending over this period is investigated. The multivariate regression estimates show that, in accordance with the previous literature, females are more risk averse than males. The gender risk-aversion gap appears to be closing for younger cohorts. The panel estimation reveals a pattern consistent with a positive relationship with mean income and expenditure on home-insurance.