The Stability of Personal Traits and Preferences in Times of the Corona Pandemic: Evidence from Germany
Based on panel data on around 5500 German households, thisarticle analyzes whether the experience of financial losses dueto the Corona pandemic has affected three kinds of personaltraits and preferences: the willingness to take risks, patience, andthe locus of control (LOC). Our empirical results indicate thatpatience and the LOC remain unchanged by the experience ofpandemic-related financial losses, whereas we find a negativeeffect of severe financial losses on risk-taking, contrasting withthe traditional assumption that such preferences are constant. In this respect, our heterogeneity analysis indicates that finan-cial losses due to the Corona pandemic particularly affect themost vulnerable households, notably low-income householdsand those with little income diversification.
Frondel, M., D. Osberghaus and S. Sommer (2023), The Stability of Personal Traits and Preferences in Times of the Corona Pandemic: Evidence from Germany. Social Science Quarterly, 104, 5, 1138-1153
DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.13304