Procrastination on Long-Term Projects

Ted O'Donoghue and Matthew Rabin

Working Papers from Cornell University, Center for Analytic Economics

Abstract: Previous papers on time-inconsistent procrastination assume projects are completed once begun. We develop a model in which a person chooses whether and when to complete each stage of a long-term project. In addition to procrastination in starting a project, a naive person might undertake costly effort to begin a project but then never complete it. When the costs of completing different stages are more unequal, procrastination is more likely, and it is when later stages are more costly that people start but don't …nish projects. Moreover, if the structure of costs over the course of a project is endogenous, people are prone to choose cost structures that lead them to start but not finish projects. We also consider several extensions of the model that further illustrate how people may incur costs on projects they never complete.

JEL-codes: A12 B49 C70 D11 D91 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002-02
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Procrastination on Long-Term Projects (2012)
Journal Article: Procrastination on long-term projects (2008)
Working Paper: Procrastination on Long-Term Projects (2003)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ecl:corcae:02-09

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