Gender differences in weighing probability and payoffs in risky prospects: experimental evidence from Malaysia

Abstract

This paper examines gender differences in evaluating the probability and the outcome (payoff) of a risky prospect, when making a decision in both the gain and loss domains in Malaysia. Our study adds to the small but growing literature on experimental studies in a non-Western context. We found that in evaluating the probability of a risky project, females appear to be more risk averse than males in the lotteries for which both genders were risk averse but seem to be more risk-seeking than males in lotteries for which both genders were predominantly risk-seeking. This was the case in both the loss and gain domains. In evaluating the outcome of risky projects, our results suggest that although both genders exhibit diminishing sensitivity to outcome/payoff of lotteries in both the loss and gain domains, the curvature in both domains was not significantly different for both genders. These findings are consistent with studies elsewhere and do not indicate that cultural contexts influence gender reactions to risk.