WHO IS 'BEHAVIORAL'? COGNITIVE ABILITY AND ANOMALOUS PREFERENCES

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Benjamin, Daniel J.; Brown, Sebastian A.; Shapiro, Jesse M.
• 署名单位: Cornell University; Barclays; University of Chicago
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1542-4766
• DOI: 10.1111/jeea.12055
• 发表日期: 2013
• 页码: 1231-1255
• 关键词: working-memory; individual-differences; decision-making; risk-aversion; intelligence; delay; gratification; PSYCHOLOGY

摘要

In this paper, we ask whether variation in preference anomalies is related to variation in cognitive ability. Evidence from a new laboratory study of Chilean high-school students with similar schooling backgrounds shows that small-stakes risk aversion and short-run discounting are less common among those with higher standardized test scores. The relationship with test scores survives controls for parental education and wealth. We find some evidence that elementary-school GPA is predictive of preferences measured at the end of high school. Two laboratory interventions provide suggestive evidence of a possible causal impact of cognitive resources on expressed preferences.