Portfolio Choices, Gender and Marital Status

Abstract

We study the impact of gender and marital status on financial decisions using the 1989-2006 Bank of Italy Survey of Household Income and Wealth. Controlling for several characteristics of household financial heads, we find that male and married ones are more likely to invest in risky assets than female and single ones, respectively. We also investigate the role of background socio-economic factors that capture regional differences in the family structure and the organization of the labor market. Specifically, we find that higher divorce rates and female labor market participation rates are associated with a higher propensity to invest in risky assets.portfolio choice, gender, marital status, divorce, labor force participation