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The 2D:4D ratio does not always correlate with economic behavior: A field experiment with African-Americans.

Authors :
Candelo N
Eckel C
Source :
Economics and human biology [Econ Hum Biol] 2018 Sep; Vol. 30, pp. 172-181. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Jul 21.
Publication Year :
2018

Abstract

Several studies present evidence of correlations between prenatal testosterone exposure measured with the 2D:4D ratio and behaviors such as pro-social behavior, risk and patient attitudes, and self-employment. Individuals exposed prenatally to higher levels of testosterone have lower levels of risk aversion, higher levels of patience and invest more in others, and in themselves, therefore have higher individual financial wellbeing. We test these hypotheses with a sample of 115 African-Americans who live in a low-income urban area in the U.S. The 2D:4D ratio in our sample of males and females does not have a consistent and robust correlation with risk, patient attitudes, pro-social behavior and self-employment in contrast to previous studies.<br /> (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1873-6130
Volume :
30
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Economics and human biology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
30064037
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2018.07.002