UC San Diego

The content of this dissertation focuses on the link between earnings risk and the preferences of workers in the labor market. The research papers which comprise the chapters of the dissertation all examine worker responses to short-run earnings variation. Chapter 1 addresses the question of whether or not behavior consistent with having risk preferences around a daily income target can explain observed behavior in taxi drivers. Chapter 2 examines hows the outcomes of a wage distribution can influence job satisfaction. Lastly, chapter 3 utilizes an experiment to establish a link between estimated risk attitudes and labor supply outcomes.