Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Series: Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers
Creation-Date: 2020-05-24
Number: 20-027/VIII
Author-Name: Joris Klingen
Author-Workplace-Name: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Author-Name: Jos van Ommeren
Author-Workplace-Name: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Title: Risk attitude and air pollution: Evidence from chess*
Abstract: Medical research suggests that particulate matter (PM) increases stress hormones, therefore increasing the feeling of stress, which has been hypothesised to induce individuals to take less risk. To examine this, we study whether PM increases the probability of drawing in chess games using information from the Dutch club competition. We provide evidence of a reasonably strong effect: A 10μg increase in PM10 (33.6% of mean concentration) leads to a 5.8% increase in draws. Our results demonstrate that air pollution causes individuals to take less risk.
Classification-JEL: Q53, D81, I18
Keywords: air pollution, particulate matter, cognitive ability, risk taking
File-URL: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/20027.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 1719433 bytes
Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20200027