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Men are more trusting of strangers than women when it comes to making financial decisions, according to a study by Associate Professor Ananish Chaudhuri, an economist at The University of Auckland Business School.

The study, in collaboration with Associate Professor Lata Gangadharan of The University of Melbourne, helps confirm a belief that women perceive more risk in online purchasing than men.

"Many day-to-day transactions require us to trust strangers. Every time we buy on E-bay or TradeMe and hand over our credit card details we are assuming the seller will honour that trust and not rip us off," Professor Chaudhuri says.

The study also helps to explain why women are typically less inclined to invest in risky assets such as stocks or unit trusts and prefer safer assets such as term investments.

The study tested the financial attitudes of 100 University of Melbourne students by asking them to take part in a "trust game". The exercise tested their willingness to send money to a stranger for a possible return (their trust); and their willingness to return dividends to a stranger (their trustworthiness).

"Men were significantly more willing to send money to a stranger than women, trusting that a dividend would be returned to them. Many of the men sent all of their money," Professor Chaudhuri says.

"The lower level of trust exhibited by women may be attributed to a greater degree of risk aversion."

Curiously, trust and trustworthiness did not always go hand in hand. Those who trusted others were not necessarily trustworthy themselves. But those that were trustworthy were almost always trusting.

"Being trusting is a good indicator that you are willing to accept a gamble or take a calculated risk with your money. Being trustworthy indicates that you are these things, but you will also repay a debt or give to charity," Chaudhuri says.

Men and women were found to be equally trustworthy.

"Countries whose citizens are more trusting experience faster economic growth, because they spend less on bribes or arbitrary taxes to protect themselves from being exploited. They are also more willing to invest in new business opportunities." Professor Chaudhuri says.