Intra-individual stability of two survey measures on forward-looking attitude

Malte Preuss

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2021, vol. 190, issue C, 201-227

Abstract: Using representative panel data sets from the Netherlands and Germany, this study analyzes the long-term stability of two behaviorally validated measures on individuals’ forward-looking attitude: the consideration of future consequences scale and two ultra-short survey items on patience and impulsiveness. Overall, their intra-individual correlation is sufficiently high to consider the measures as stable, and a comprehensive list of live events does not correlate with their instability. Past events have only a small and time-restricted effect, if any. Robustness tests indicate that measurement errors seem to be the most likely reason for their instability. Although these findings mitigate endogeneity concerns, error-in-variable biases can, nevertheless, be substantial.

Keywords: Consideration of future consequences; Patience; Impulsiveness; Temporal stability; Measurement error; Time preferences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C83 D01 D15 D90 D91 (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:jeborg:v:190:y:2021:i:c:p:201-227

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.06.049

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