In this paper the authors estimate the coefficient of relative risk aversion for 75 countries using data on self-reports of personal well-being from the Gallup World Poll. Their analysis suggests that the coefficient of relative risk aversion varies closely around one, which corresponds to a logarithmic utility function. The authors conclude that their results support the use of the log utility function in numerical simulations.
https://doi.org/10.20955/wp.2014.005
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