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Collective Intertemporal Decisions and Heterogeneity in Groups

Author

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  • Daniela Glätzle-Rützler

    (Department of Public Finance, University of Innsbruck)

  • Philipp Lergetporer

    (Center for the Economics of Education, ifo Institute Munich, and CESifo)

  • Matthias Sutter

    (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, University of Cologne, University of Innsbruck and IZA Bonn)

Abstract

Many important intertemporal decisions are made by groups rather than individuals. What happens to collective decisions when there is internal conflict about the tradeoff between present and future has not been thoroughly investigated so far. We study experimentally the causal effect of group members’ heterogeneous payoffs from waiting on intertemporal choices. We find that three-person groups behave more patiently than individuals. This effect stems from the presence of at least one group member with a high payoff from waiting. We analyze additional treatments, group chat content, and survey data to uncover the mechanism through which heterogeneity in groups increases patience.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniela Glätzle-Rützler & Philipp Lergetporer & Matthias Sutter, 2021. "Collective Intertemporal Decisions and Heterogeneity in Groups," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 054, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:ajk:ajkdps:054
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    2. Mikhail Pakhnin, 2021. "Collective Choice with Heterogeneous Time Preferences," CESifo Working Paper Series 9141, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    patience; time preferences; group decisions; payoff heterogeneity; experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General

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