Toward an understanding of the development of time preferences: Evidence from field experiments

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Andreoni, James; Kuhn, Michael A.; List, John A.; Samek, Anya; Sokal, Kevin; Sprenger, Charles
• 署名单位: National Bureau of Economic Research; University of Oregon
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2019.06.007
• 发表日期: 2019
• 关键词: Time preferences; Child behavior; experiment; Inter-generational transmission

摘要

Time preferences have been correlated with a range of life outcomes, yet little is known about their early development. We conduct a field experiment to elicit time preferences of over 1200 children ages 3-12, who make several intertemporal decisions. To shed light on how such primitives form, we explore various channels that might affect time preferences, from background characteristics to the causal impact of an early schooling program that we developed and operated. Our results suggest that time preferences evolve substantially during this period, with younger children displaying more impatience than older children. We also find a strong association with race: black children, relative to white or Hispanic children, are more impatient. Finally, assignment to different schooling opportunities is not significantly associated with child time preferences. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.