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Waiting to Choose: The Role of Deliberation in Intertemporal Choice

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  • Alex Imas
  • Michael A. Kuhn
  • Vera Mironova

Abstract

We study the impact of deliberation on intertemporal choices. Using multiple experiments, including a field study in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we show that the introduction of waiting periods—a policy that temporally separate information about choices from choices themselves—cause substantially less myopic decisions. These results cannot be captured by models of exponential discounting nor present bias. Comparing the effects of waiting periods to making planned choices over future time periods, the former has a larger impact on reducing myopia. Our results highlight the role of deliberation in decision-making and have implications for policy and intervention design.

Suggested Citation

  • Alex Imas & Michael A. Kuhn & Vera Mironova, 2016. "Waiting to Choose: The Role of Deliberation in Intertemporal Choice," CESifo Working Paper Series 6162, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6162
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    Cited by:

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    2. Cassar, Lea & Meier, Stephan, 2017. "Intentions for Doing Good Matter for Doing Well: The (Negative) Signaling Value of Prosocial Incentives," IZA Discussion Papers 11203, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Trutmann, Kevin & Heinke, Steve & Rieskamp, Jörg, 2023. "Take your time: How delayed information and restricted decision opportunities improve belief formation in investment decisions," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    4. Roberts, Annabelle R. & Fishbach, Ayelet, 2020. "When wanting closure reduces patients’ patience," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 161(S), pages 85-94.
    5. Gabaix, Xavier & Laibson, David, 2017. "Myopia and Discounting," CEPR Discussion Papers 11914, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    time preferences; waiting periods; noisy cognition; heuristics; deliberation; field experiments;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments

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