Saving, Risk Sharing, and Preferences for Risk

TitleSaving, Risk Sharing, and Preferences for Risk
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2004
AuthorsMazzocco, M
JournalThe American Economic Review
Volume94
Issue4
Pagination1169-1182
ISSN Number00028282
KeywordsRisk Factors, Risk Taking, Savings
Abstract

An important feature of household saving decisions is the ability of individual members to share risk among them. With few exceptions, theoretical and empirical studies characterize household saving as if a single agent were making the decision. Under this assumption, the risk-sharing component of household saving is largely ignored. This paper is one of the first attempts to analyze the effect of risk sharing on saving by characterizing the household as a group of agents making efficient decisions.

DOI10.1257/0002828042002516
Citation Key9788