Psychological and Biological Foundations of Time Preference
Abstract
This paper considers the relationship between the economic concept of time preference and relevant concepts from psychology and biology. Using novel data from a time diary study conducted in Ireland that combined detailed psychometric testing with medical testing and real-time bio-tracking, we examine the extent to which individual differences in financial discounting are related to underlying biological and psychological differences. The paper finds that financial discounting is related to a range of psychological variables including consideration of future consequences, self-control, conscientiousness, extraversion, and experiential avoidance, as well as being predicted by heart rate variability and blood pressure. (JEL: D01, D9, C81) (c) 2009 by the European Economic Association.Download Info
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Bibliographic Info
Article provided by MIT Press in its journal Journal of the European Economic Association.
Volume (Year): 7 (2009)
Issue (Month): 2-3 (04-05)
Pages: 659-669
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Web page: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/jeea
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Web: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/jeea
Related research
Keywords:Find related papers by JEL classification:
- D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
- D9 - Microeconomics - - Intertemporal Choice and Growth
- C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data
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Citations
Blog mentions
As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:- Measuring diurnal biorythms
by Liam Delaney in Economics and Psychology Research on 2012-04-03 13:43:00 - Papers on Personality and Economics
by Liam Delaney in Economics and Psychology Research on 2012-04-18 10:30:00 - Journal session on personality and economics
by Liam Delaney in Economics and Psychology Research on 2012-05-04 12:58:00
Cited by:
- Becker Anke & Deckers Thomas & Dohmen Thomas & Falk Armin & Kosse Fabian, 2012.
"The Relationship Between Economic Preferences and Psychological Personality Measures,"
Research Memoranda
048, Maastricht : METEOR, Maastricht Research School of Economics of Technology and Organization.
- Anke Becker & Thomas Deckers & Thomas Dohmen & Armin Falk & Fabian Kosse, 2012. "The Relationship Between Economic Preferences and Psychological Personality Measures," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 4(1), pages 453-478, 07.
- Becker Anke & Deckers Thomas & Dohmen Thomas & Falk Armin & Kosse Fabian, 2012. "The relationship between economic preferences and psychological personality measures," Research Memoranda 012, Maastricht : ROA, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market.
- Anke Becker & Thomas Deckers & Thomas Dohmen & Armin Falk & Fabian Kosse, 2012. "The Relationship between Economic Preferences and Psychological Personality Measures," CESifo Working Paper Series 3785, CESifo Group Munich.
- Becker, Anke & Deckers, Thomas & Dohmen, Thomas & Falk, Armin & Kosse, Fabian, 2012. "The Relationship Between Economic Preferences and Psychological Personality Measures," IZA Discussion Papers 6470, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- Robert Metcalfe & Simon Burgess & Steven Proud, 2011.
"Student effort and educational attainment: Using the England football team to identify the education production function,"
The Centre for Market and Public Organisation
11/276, Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
- Robert Metcalfe & Simon Burgess and Steven Proud, 2011. "Student effort and educational attainment: Using the England football team to identify the education production function," Economics Series Working Papers 586, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
- Heckman, James J., 2011.
"Integrating Personality Psychology into Economics,"
IZA Discussion Papers
5950, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- James J. Heckman, 2011. "Integrating Personality Psychology into Economics," NBER Working Papers 17378, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Mathilde Almlund & Angela Lee Duckworth & James J. Heckman & Tim D. Kautz, 2011.
"Personality Psychology and Economics,"
NBER Working Papers
16822, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Almlund, Mathilde & Duckworth, Angela Lee & Heckman, James J. & Kautz, Tim, 2011. "Personality Psychology and Economics," IZA Discussion Papers 5500, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- Sergio Beraldo & Raul Caruso & Gilberto Turati, 2011. "Life is now! Time discounting and crime: evidence from the Italian regions (2002-2007)," ICER Working Papers 18-2011, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
- Drichoutis, Andreas & Nayga, Rodolfo, 2012. "Do risk and time preferences have biological roots?," MPRA Paper 37320, University Library of Munich, Germany.
- Sergio Beraldo & Raul Caruso & Gilberto Turati, 2012. "Life is Now! Time Discounting and Crime: Aggregate Evidence from the Italian Regions (2002-2007)," Working papers 013, Department of Economics and Statistics (Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Sociali e Matematico-Statistiche), University of Torino.
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