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 und 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