The stability of personal traits and preferences in times of the Corona pandemic: Evidence from Germany

Based on panel data on around 5500 German households, this article analyzes whether the experience of financial losses due to the Corona pandemic has affected three kinds of personal traits and preferences: the willingness to take risks, patience, and the locus of control (LOC). Our empirical results indicate that patience and the LOC remain unchanged by the experience of pandemic-related financial losses, whereas we find a negative effect of severe financial losses on risk-taking, contrasting with the traditional assumption that such preferences are constant. In this respect, our heterogeneity analysis indicates that financial losses due to the Corona pandemic particularly affect the most vulnerable households, notably low-income households and those with little income diversification.

Frondel, Manuel, Daniel Osberghaus and Stephan Sommer (2023), The stability of personal traits and preferences in times of the Corona pandemic: Evidence from Germany, Social Science Quarterly 104(5) , 1138-1153