Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/241120 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
Staff Report No. 927
Publisher: 
Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York, NY
Abstract: 
We study whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted risk preferences, comparing the results of experiments conducted before and during the outbreak. In each experiment, we elicit risk preferences from two sample groups: professional traders and undergraduate students. We find that, on average, risk preferences have remained constant for both pools of participants. Our results suggest that the increases in risk premia observed during the pandemic are not due to changes in risk appetite; rather, they are solely due to a change in beliefs by market participants. The findings of our paper support the traditional view that, at least on average, risk preferences are not affected by economic or social circumstances.
Subjects: 
risk aversion
financial markets professional
COVID-19
experimental economics
JEL: 
D81
D91
N0
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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