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Reinterpreting Delay and Procrastination

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  • Conrad Kosowsky

Abstract

I model a rational agent who experiences endogenous deadline pressure in the face of a fixed future deadline. The agent holds a resource stock, and opportunities to spend resources arise randomly according to a Poisson process. When the deadline is far away, the agent smooths consumption, but as the deadline approaches, the agent prioritizes current spending because of uncertainty about the future. The combination of concave utility and the agent's liquidity induces correlation aversion. Connecting the agent's risk and time preference is intuitive and leads to a model of procrastination where the agent overestimates their desire to spend resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Conrad Kosowsky, 2024. "Reinterpreting Delay and Procrastination," Papers 2411.11828, arXiv.org, revised Sep 2025.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2411.11828
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    References listed on IDEAS

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