A New Method of Estimating Risk Aversion

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2006
Volume: 96
Issue: 5
Pages: 1821-1834

Score contribution per author:

8.073 = (α=2.02 / 1 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

I show existing evidence on labor supply behavior places an upper bound on risk aversion in the expected utility model. I derive a formula for the coefficient of relative risk aversion (γ) in terms of the ratio of the income elasticity of labor supply to wage elasticity and degree of complementarity between consumption and labor. I bound the degree of complementarity using data on consumption choices when labor supply varies across states. Using labor supply elasticity estimates, I find a mean estimate of γ ≈ 1, then show generating γ > 2 requires that wage increases cause sharper labor supply reductions. (JEL D81 J22 )

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:96:y:2006:i:5:p:1821-1834
Journal Field
General
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-25