Abstract

https://ssrn.com/abstract=2547516
 


 



Age, Gender, and Risk-Taking: Evidence from the S&P 1500 Executives and Firm Riskiness


Jarkko Peltomäki


Stockholm University

Steve Swidler


Auburn University - College of Business

Sami Vähämaa


University of Vaasa

September 30, 2016


Abstract:     
This paper examines whether the age and gender of the firm’s top executives are reflected in firm-level riskiness. Using data on the S&P 1500 firms, we document that firms with older Chief Executive Officers (CEO) and Chief Financial Officers (CFO) are associated with less volatile stock returns and lower levels of idiosyncratic risk. This finding suggests that executives become more risk averse with age and may constrain risk-taking by their firms. Furthermore, we find evidence of a strong positive relationship between female executives and firm risk after controlling for firm-specific attributes and managerial risk-taking incentives. Overall, our empirical findings demonstrate that the age and gender of the firm’s top executives may have important implications for corporate outcomes.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 53

Keywords: Executives, CEOs, CFOs, age, gender, firm riskiness, risk-taking

JEL Classification: G01, G21, G30, G32


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Date posted: January 10, 2015 ; Last revised: October 1, 2016

Suggested Citation

Peltomäki, Jarkko and Swidler, Steve and Vähämaa, Sami, Age, Gender, and Risk-Taking: Evidence from the S&P 1500 Executives and Firm Riskiness (September 30, 2016). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2547516 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2547516

Contact Information

Jarkko Peltomäki
Stockholm University ( email )
Stockholm
Sweden
Steve M. Swidler
Auburn University - College of Business ( email )
Auburn, AL 36849
United States
334-844-3014 (Phone)
334 -844-4960 (Fax)
HOME PAGE: http://www.business.auburn.edu/~swidlst/
Sami Vähämaa (Contact Author)
University of Vaasa ( email )
P.O. Box 700
Vaasa, FI-65101
Finland
+358 29 449 8455 (Phone)
HOME PAGE: http://www.uva.fi/~sami
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