Obesity and Hyperbolic Discounting: An Experimental Analysis

Timothy J. Richards, Stephen Hamilton and Geoffrey M. Pofahl

No 61186, 2010 Annual Meeting, July 25-27, 2010, Denver, Colorado from Agricultural and Applied Economics Association

Abstract: Behavioral economists maintain that addictions such as alcoholism, smoking and over-eating represent examples of present-bias in decision making that is fundamentally irrational. In this article, we develop a model of present bias and apparently hyperbolic discounting that is fully consistent with rational behavior. We construct an experiment to test our hypothesis and to determine whether discount rates differ for individuals who engage in behaviors that could endanger their health. Our results show that discount functions are quasi-hyperbolic in shape, and that obesity and drinking are positively related to the discount rate. Anti-obesity policy, therefore, would be best directed to informing individuals as to the long-term implications of short-term gratification, rather than taxing foods directly.

Keywords: Consumer/Household Economics; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Health Economics and Policy; Institutional and Behavioral Economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 41
Date: 2010-01
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/61186/files/Ri ... _AAEA_2010_Paper.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Obesity and Hyperbolic Discounting: An Experimental Analysis (2012)
Working Paper: OBESITY AND HYPERBOLIC DISCOUNTING: AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS (2010)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:aaea10:61186

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.61186

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in 2010 Annual Meeting, July 25-27, 2010, Denver, Colorado from Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().