Religiosity and Risk-Taking: Evidence from Islam

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 IP: 203.8.109.10 On: Sat, 23 Sep 2 more likely to make risky decisions.D i ed by t