The Daily Stat: Hard Times May Make You More Likely to Gamble Away Your Money

 

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July 15, 2013 Hard Times May Make You More Likely to Gamble Away Your Money Do people with bleak economic prospects hold more tightly to their money? No, they're more likely to gamble it away, says a team led by Michael J.A. Wohl of Carleton University in Canada. In an experiment, people were more than twice as likely to gamble $10 on slot machines if they first read an article warning of an unstable economic climate, poor job prospects, and higher costs. Periods of hardship can lead people to make risky and detrimental financial decisions, the researchers say. SOURCE: When the Going Gets Tough : Economic Threat Increases Financial Risk Taking in Games of Chance

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