Beliefs as a Means of Self-Control? Evidence from a Dynamic Student Survey

Felix Bönisch, Tobias König, Sebastian Schweighofer-Kodritsch and Georg Weizsäcker

No 10984, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: We repeatedly elicit beliefs about the returns to study effort, in a large university course. A behavioral model of quasi-hyperbolic discounting and malleable beliefs predicts that the dynamics of beliefs mirrors the importance of exerting self-control, such that believed returns increase as the exam approaches, and drop post-exam. Exploiting variation in exam timing to control for common information shocks, we find this prediction confirmed: average believed study returns increase by about 20% over the period before the exam, and drop by about the same afterwards. Additional analyses further support the hypothesized mechanism that beliefs serve as a means of self-control.

Keywords: beliefs; present bias; self-control; effort; survey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C81 D81 D91 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe and nep-neu
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Beliefs as a Means of Self-Control? Evidence from a Dynamic Student Survey (2023)
Working Paper: Beliefs as a means of self-control? Evidence from a dynamic student survey (2019)
Working Paper: Beliefs as a Means of Self-Control? Evidence from a Dynamic Student Survey (2018)
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