Tat will tell: Tattoos and time preferences

Bradley Ruffle

LCERPA Working Papers from Laurier Centre for Economic Research and Policy Analysis

Abstract: Forty percent of Americans under the age of 40 have at least one tattoo. Yet survey and experimental evidence suggests that the tattooed are viewed negatively and may face discrimination in the labor market and in commercial transactions. In view of the potentially adverse economic consequences of a tattoo, the decision to get one may be regarded as shortsighted and impulsive. We collect numerous measures of time preferences and impulsivity of tattooed and non-tattooed subjects and find broad-ranging and robust evidence that those with tattoos, especially visible ones, are more short-sighted and impulsive than the non-tattooed. Almost nothing mitigates these results, neither the motive for the tattoo, nor the time contemplated before getting tattooed, nor the time elapsed since the most recent tattoo. Even the expressed intention to get a(nother) tattoo predicts increased short-sightedness and helps to pin down the direction of causality between tattoos and short-sightedness.

Keywords: experimental economics; tattoo; time preferences; impulsivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C91 Z10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-12-01, Revised 2017-12-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-exp and nep-lma
Note: LCERPA Working Paper No. 2017-9
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http://www.lcerpa.org/public/papers/LCERPA_2017_9.pdf

Related works:
Journal Article: Tat will tell: Tattoos and time preferences (2019)
Working Paper: Tat will tell: Tattoos and time preferences (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wlu:lcerpa:0106

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