Procrastination and Impatience

Ernesto Reuben, Paola Sapienza and Luigi Zingales

No 13713, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: There is a large body of literature documenting both a preference for immediacy and a tendency to procrastinate. O'Donoghue and Rabin (1999a,b, 2001) and Choi et al. (2005) model these behaviors as the two faces of the same phenomenon. In this paper, we use a combination of lab, field, and survey evidence to study whether these two types of behavior are indeed linked. To measure immediacy we had subjects choose between a series of smaller-sooner and larger-later rewards. Both rewards were paid with a check in order to control for transaction costs. To measure procrastination we use the subjects' actual behavior in cashing the check and completing tasks on time. Our results lend support to the hypothesis that subjects who have a preference for immediacy are indeed more likely to procrastinate.

JEL-codes: D0 G0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo, nep-exp and nep-soc
Note: AP
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

Published as Reuben, Ernesto & Sapienza, Paola & Zingales, Luigi, 2015. "Procrastination and impatience," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 63-76.

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Journal Article: Procrastination and impatience (2015)
Working Paper: Procrastination and Impatience (2008)
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