Women are more risk averse than men, on average, and also place less emphasis on having a will and inheritance plan, according to new research reported by the Yorkshire Post. The study examines the differences between investing behaviour of wealthy females and wealthy males. A third of the women polled say they are financial risk takers compared with 49% of the men.
The use of incentives and penalties is well known in behavioural economics – now Freakonomics blogs on a new app to encourage children to do tasks in exchange for rewards. Reader response to the post is divided, however, with several commenting that brushing teeth and other activities should be part of life rather than done to get a reward.
Lean economic times can make get-rich-quick schemes more tempting, warns The Economist, as “desperation breeds gullibility”. It charts the number of Ponzi scheme cases filed by the American Securities Exchange Commission, which more than doubled between 2008 and 2010.
