Savings and Risk Aversion: Behavioral Evidence from Spain, the Netherlands, and Sweden

Savings and Risk Aversion: Behavioral Evidence from Spain, the Netherlands, and Sweden | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Savings and Risk Aversion: Behavioral Evidence from Spain, the Netherlands, and Sweden Sid Ahmed ZENAGUI This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9315035/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This paper investigates the behavioral determinants of household savings behavior across Spain, the Netherlands, and Sweden over the period 2000–2025. Using a combination of hierarchical Bayesian estimation, mixed logit models, and panel data techniques, the study examines how risk aversion, precautionary motives, financial literacy, income shocks, and uncertainty shape savings decisions. The results show that precautionary motives are the dominant driver of savings behavior, exceeding the influence of income effects, while financial literacy significantly increases savings and reduces risk aversion. Substantial cross-country heterogeneity is identified, with Spain exhibiting the highest risk aversion and strongest sensitivity to income shocks, while Sweden shows comparatively lower risk aversion and higher responsiveness to financial literacy. The findings also reveal strong behavioral persistence in savings behavior and significant heterogeneity across age and housing tenure groups. Overall, the evidence highlights that household savings decisions are driven by a combination of structural preferences, behavioral constraints, and institutional environments rather than income alone. The study contributes to behavioral economics and household finance by integrating risk preferences, cognitive constraints, and uncertainty into a unified empirical framework with cross-country evidence. JEL Classification: D12, D14, D81, D91, E21, G11. Household savings Risk aversion Behavioral economics Financial literacy Precautionary savings Income shocks Cross-country analysis Hierarchical Bayesian models Household finance Uncertainty aversion Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9315035","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":617265722,"identity":"1cf20b25-f4b4-4b4a-aac4-7bb90b4491f3","order_by":0,"name":"Sid Ahmed ZENAGUI","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"University of Ain Temouchent","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sid","middleName":"Ahmed","lastName":"ZENAGUI","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-03 16:53:40","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9315035/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9315035/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107485460,"identity":"48fc2b25-265b-42ab-bab5-ce05f54f8b2d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-22 02:34:58","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1798884,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"BehavioralDeterminantsofSavingsandRiskAversion.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9315035/v1_covered_f495d103-f7e5-464f-8c2f-0541364f0b25.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Savings and Risk Aversion: Behavioral Evidence from Spain, the Netherlands, and Sweden","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Household savings, Risk aversion, Behavioral economics, Financial literacy, Precautionary savings, Income shocks, Cross-country analysis, Hierarchical Bayesian models, Household finance, Uncertainty aversion","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9315035/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9315035/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis paper investigates the behavioral determinants of household savings behavior across Spain, the Netherlands, and Sweden over the period 2000–2025. 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