Analyzing a large sample of identical and fraternal twins matched with data on their savings behavior, we find that genetic differences explains about 33 percent of the variation in savings propensities across individuals. Each individual is born with a genetic predisposition to a specific...

Using data on identical and fraternal twins' complete financial portfolios, we decompose the cross-sectional variation in investor behavior. We find that a genetic factor explains about one third of the variance in stock market participation and asset allocation. Family environment has an effect...

Measuring the impact of political risk on investment projects is one of the most vexing issues in international business. One popular approach is to assume that the sovereign yield spread captures political risk and to augment the project discount rate by this spread. We show that this approach...

We revisit the limited stock market participation puzzle leveraging a qualitative research approach that is commonly used in many social sciences, but much less so in finance or economics. We conduct in-depth interviews of stock market participants and non-participants in Germany, a high-income...

We examine the differences in the stock holdings of wealthy households in different counties of the U.S. with different political preferences over the past 25 years. Al- though political differences between counties have been increasing since at least 1996, it is not until 2013 when they started...