Poverty and limited attention

Stefanie Y. Schmitt and Markus G. Schlatterer

Economics & Human Biology, 2021, vol. 41, issue C

Abstract: In this article, we analyze whether the financial strain of poverty systematically alters the allocation of attention. We address two types of attention: attention to unexpectedly occurring events and attention to primary tasks that require focus. We show that the poor are significantly more likely than the rich to notice unexpected events. In addition, we do not find robust evidence that poverty increases the likelihood of noticing the unexpected events at the expense of attention to the primary task.

Keywords: Inattentional blindness; Limited attention; Poverty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D91 I32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:41:y:2021:i:c:s1570677x21000113

DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2021.100987

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