Toward an understanding of the development of time preferences: Evidence from field experiments

James Andreoni, Michael Kuhn, John List, Anya Samek, Kevin Sokal and Charles Sprenger

Journal of Public Economics, 2019, vol. 177, issue C, -

Abstract: Time preferences have been correlated with a range of life outcomes, yet little is known about their early development. We conduct a field experiment to elicit time preferences of over 1200 children ages 3–12, who make several intertemporal decisions. To shed light on how such primitives form, we explore various channels that might affect time preferences, from background characteristics to the causal impact of an early schooling program that we developed and operated. Our results suggest that time preferences evolve substantially during this period, with younger children displaying more impatience than older children. We also find a strong association with race: black children, relative to white or Hispanic children, are more impatient. Finally, assignment to different schooling opportunities is not significantly associated with child time preferences.

Keywords: Time preferences; Child behavior; Experiment; Inter-generational transmission (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C72 C91 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (38)

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Working Paper: Toward an Understanding of the Development of Time Preferences: Evidence from Field Experiments (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:177:y:2019:i:c:10

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2019.06.007

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