Three essays on risk aversion

This dissertation study focuses on risk aversion. The first essay looks at how the interaction between bond holding and risk aversion relates to older Americans’ financial satisfaction. Highly risk averse older Americans are found to be more satisfied with their financial situations when they have more bonds as percentages of their portfolios. The second and the third essays investigate how survivorship optimism relates to willingness to avoid consumption variation and portfolio choice, respectively. The results suggest that survivorship optimists tend to be more willing to avoid consumption variation and hold more aggressive portfolios.