Measuring the impact of interaction between children of a matrilineal and a patriarchal culture on gender differences in risk aversion

Significance Studies show that women are more risk averse than men. We explore sources and malleability of such differences in a setting where children of two culturally distinct populations, the matrilineal Mosuo and the traditionally patriarchal Han, come together to attend school. Using survey and field experiments, we elicit individual risk attitudes from elementary and middle school students from the two populations. When they first enter school, Mosuo girls take more risks than Mosuo boys, while Han girls are more risk averse than Han boys, reflecting cultural differences. However, after spending time in the majority-Han environment, Mosuo children adopt the risk preferences of the majority. This shows that risk preferences are shaped by culture and malleable in response to new environments.