This paper examines the influence of gambling culture on household investment decisions concerning risky financial assets. To estimate these effects, the study utilizes data from the 2019 China Household Finance Survey. The empirical findings reveal that gambling culture significantly enhances household preferences for risky financial assets and raises the proportion of household allocations to these assets. Furthermore, both subjective financial literacy and objective financial literacy amplify these positive effects. The heterogeneity analysis revealed that the effects of gambling culture on household preference for and allocation of risky financial assets varied across regions, income levels, and household types.

The aging population is expanding globally, and addressing the challenges of elderly care is urgent. Using the 2019 China Household Finance Survey data, this study finds that commercial pension insurance significantly promotes households’ allocation of risky financial assets. We test the mechanisms using household risk perception and investment risk preference as mediating variables. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive effect of commercial pension insurance on risky financial asset allocation is more significant in rural households with household registration, those with two sets of housing, and households in the northeast. The research findings of this article aim to promote the continuous improvement of China’s elderly care system and provide important empirical evidence for the formulation of relevant policies.