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Time Preference and Technology Adoption: A Single-Choice Experiment with U.S. Farmers

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  • Duquette, Eric
  • Higgins, Nathaniel
  • Horowitz, John

Abstract

We elicit time-discounting behavior from U.S. farmers that are broadly known to be either late or early adopters of farming best management practices. Using a single-choice experiment, we estimate the mean discount rate for each farmer group and find that late adopters have a mean discount rate that is thirteen percentage points higher than the mean rate of early adopters. We argue through simulations that this difference is likely due to differences in time preference rather than risk aversion.

Suggested Citation

  • Duquette, Eric & Higgins, Nathaniel & Horowitz, John, 2013. "Time Preference and Technology Adoption: A Single-Choice Experiment with U.S. Farmers," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 150719, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
  • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaea13:150719
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.150719
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Demand and Price Analysis; Farm Management; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; Risk and Uncertainty;
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