Deciding for Others Reduces Loss Aversion

Autor(en)

Ola Andersson, Hakan Holm, Jean-Robert Tyran, Erik Wengström

Abstrakt

We study risk taking on behalf of others, both when choices involve losses and when they do not. A large-scale incentivized experiment with subjects randomly drawn from the Danish population is conducted. We find that deciding for others reduces loss aversion. When choosing between risky prospects for which losses are ruled out by design, subjects make the same choices for themselves as for others. In contrast, when losses are possible, we find that the two types of choices differ. In particular, we find that subjects who make choices for themselves take less risk than those who decide for others when losses loom. This finding is consistent with an interpretation of loss aversion as a bias in decision making driven by emotions and that these emotions are reduced when making decisions for others.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre, Wiener Zentrum für Experimentelle Wirtschaftsforschung

Externe Organisation(en)

Lund University, University of Copenhagen, Research Institute of Industrial Economics

Journal

Management Science

Band

62

Seiten

29-36

Anzahl der Seiten

8

ISSN

0025-1909

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.2085

Publikationsdatum

12-2014

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

502045 Verhaltensökonomie

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Strategy and Management, Management Science and Operations Research

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/deciding-for-others-reduces-loss-aversion(727a1be0-eb3f-4d73-aa10-16122dcdd048).html