Prudence and prevention: empirical evidence
Theory shows that optimal prevention decisions in the sense of self-protection (i. e., primary prevention) depend not only on the level of (second-order) risk aversion but also on prudence (third-order risk aversion). We use a unique dataset that combines data on higher-order risk preferences and ob...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
December 2025
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| In: |
Economics letters
Year: 2025, Volume: 257, Pages: 1-7 |
| ISSN: | 0165-1765 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112671 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112671 Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176525005087 
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| Author Notes: | Thomas Mayrhofer, Hendrik Schmitz |
| Summary: | Theory shows that optimal prevention decisions in the sense of self-protection (i. e., primary prevention) depend not only on the level of (second-order) risk aversion but also on prudence (third-order risk aversion). We use a unique dataset that combines data on higher-order risk preferences and observed real-world preventive behavior and provide the first representative evidence of a negative relationship between prudence and self-protection: We find that prudent individuals in the high-risk group (above the age of 60 or chronically ill) indeed invest less in self-protection as measured by influenza vaccination. This does not hold for younger and healthy individuals for whom influenza vaccination rates are low in general. |
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| Item Description: | Online verfügbar: 13. Oktober 2025, Artikelversion: 16. Oktober 2025 Gesehen am 01.12.2025 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 0165-1765 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112671 |