Air pollution and risk preference

Abstract

We empirically investigate whether exposure to air pollution alters an individual's risk preference. We utilize South Korean individual-level panel data, which contains information on risk preferences, locations, and interview dates. By exploiting the within-individual variation in risk preference and exposure to air pollution on the interview day, we find that a higher level of air pollution is associated with a lower probability of having a risk-loving preference. We also find that the impact of air pollution on risk preference is mostly transitory and contemporary. © 2022