Goal-setting and self-control

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hsiaw, Alice
• 署名单位: College of the Holy Cross
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC THEORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-0531
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jet.2012.08.001
• 发表日期: 2013
• 页码: 601-626
• 关键词: Goal-setting; reference dependence; self-control; Quasi-hyperbolic discounting; optimal stopping

摘要

This paper addresses the role of non-binding goals to attenuate time inconsistency. Present-biased agents have linear reference-dependent preferences and endogenously set a goal that is the reference point. They face an infinite horizon, optimal stopping problem in continuous time. When there is sufficient commitment to expectation-based goals, goal-setting attenuates the present-biased agent's tendency to stop too early, and may even lead an agent to wait longer than the first-best. In particular, reference dependence is strictly worse for a time-consistent agent. Notably, none of the effects of goal-setting require loss aversion. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.