%0 Journal Article
%@ 0022-0515
%A Andries, Marianne
%A Haddad, Valentin
%D 2020
%F publications:32480
%I American Economic Association
%J Journal of Economic Literature
%N 5
%P 1901-1939
%R 10.1086/705668.
%T Information Aversion
%U https://publications.ut-capitole.fr/id/eprint/32480/
%V 128
%X Information aversion, a preference-based fear of news flows, has rich implications for decisions involving information and risk-taking. It can explain key empirical patterns on how households pay attention to savings, namely that investors observe their portfolios infrequently, particularly when stock prices are low or volatile. Receiving state-dependent alerts following sharp market downturns such as during the financial crisis of 2008 improves welfare. Information averse investors display an ostrich behavior: overhearing negative news prompts more inattention. Their fear of frequent news encourages them to hold undiversified portfolios.