Does Familiar Environment Affect Individual Risk Attitudes? Olive-oil Producer vs. no-producer Households

In this paper we experimentally research if the socio-cultural environment of an olive-oil producer family could influence on the attitudes towards risk of their members. Beyond the often assumed greater risk aversion of farmers on this particular environment, we do not find any significant differences between the subjects with a long olive-oil farming tradition and other subjects without relationship with the sector. Therefore, we could question the prevalence of sector-specific risk attitudes. Although, both collectives show a considerable risk aversion and a low dispersion in their decisions under risk. This last issue could be an undesirable characteristic to an olive oil futures market because the existence of heterogeneity in the risk preferences is not guaranteed.