Religiosity and Risk-Taking: Evidence from Islam

Abstract

The Islamic religion has been at the centre of global interest in recent times, but there is no consensus on its influence on individuals and their socio-economic behaviour. We examine the impact of Muslims' religiosity on their propensity to make risky decisions. Based on a sample database of 638 Muslims from Saudi Arabia, the empirical results establish a new link between Islamic religiosity and the preference for risk-taking. In particular, the results reveal a U-shaped relationship between Islamic religiosity and the propensity of Muslims for risk-taking suggesting that individuals with both high and low religiosity levels are more likely to make risky decisions.