Financial Risk Taking: Blame It On the Genes!

Financial institutions continue to teeter on the brink of ruin. Banks are still devouring bailout money without loosening credit enough to make a difference in a recession that is sweeping the globe. And everyone keeps asking, How in the world did so many financial titans take such huge risks with our nations well being?

A new Northwestern University study provides provocative insights that relate to, if not answer, that extraordinarily complex question.

The study, for the first time, links specific variants of two genes that regulate dopamine and serotonin neurotransmission to risk-taking in financial investment decisions.

northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2009/02/chiao.html

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Northwestern
• finance
• economics
• economy
• genetics
• risk
• gambling