Dear colleagues,

The Department of Economics cordially invites you to the WU Research Seminar in Economics on Wednesday, June 10^th, with Dietmar Fehr (Prof. Dr. Dietmar Fehr | Institute of Economics and Law | University of Stuttgart) presenting: "Status, Control, and Risk: How Relative Wealth Perceptions Shape Risk-Taking".

Abstract: We embed an experiment in a large-scale representative survey to investigate how relative wealth affects risk-taking and how this effect varies as a function of perceived control over life outcomes. Our results contest the common prediction of higher risk-taking in the middle of the distribution. Instead, we find that respondents who are induced to perceive their relative wealth as low display more tolerance towards risk in a subsequent incentivized risk-taking task. This effect is not uniform but is mainly driven by individuals who more firmly believe that life outcomes are beyond their control.

• Date: Wednesday, June 10^th
• Time: 4.30 to 6 pm (CET)
• Location: building D4, entrance A, ground floor, D4.0.144

With best regards,

Harald Oberhofer

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Univ.-Prof. Dr. Harald Oberhofer

Department of Economics 

WU Vienna University of Economics and Business

Phone: +43/1/31336-4984

Email: harald.oberhofer@wu.ac.at

https://www.wu.ac.at/en/economics/people/oberhofer-h

Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO)

Phone: +43/1/7982601-468

Email: harald.oberhofer@wifo.ac.at

http://www.wifo.ac.at/harald_oberhofer