Full Citation

Title: Essays on Impact of Risk Preference on Health and Occupational Choice

Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis

Publication Year: 2012

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Abstract: This dissertation is a compilation of three essays related with investigation of the impact of risk preference on occupational choice, health and happiness. The motivation behind my work are two fundamental questions what are human beings aiming at (on an average) in their lives and whether our life outcomes are affected by our preferences or not. Recent surveys/studies find that people are looking for simple things in life like - health, wealth and happiness.1 To answer the second question this dissertation investigates the impact of risk preference on health, wealth and happiness. I adopt a holistic approach towards risk attitude/preference by studying its impact in financial front as well as in health and happiness front. Given heterogeneous risk and time preferences of individuals, this dissertation investigates the impact of those preferences on sorting into occupations on one front and heterogeneity in health state dependence of utility (using happiness as the utility proxy) on the other front. Contingent upon the results of existence of racial-ethnic and gender heterogeneity in health dependence of utility, this dissertation identifies the contribution of observed factors behind the heterogeneity using nonlinear Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition.

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Authors: Beri, Meenakshi

Institution: Wayne State University

Department: Economics

Advisor: Jennifer Ward

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Publisher Location: Detroit, MI

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Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Other

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