PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF POVERTY ON TIME PREFERENCES

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bartos, Vojtech; Bauer, Michal; Chytilova, Julie; Levely, Ian
• 署名单位: Charles University Prague; Czech Academy of Sciences; Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences; University of Munich; Charles University Prague; University of London; King's College London
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1093/ej/ueab007
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 2357-2382
• 关键词: self-control; field experiment; risk-aversion; temptation; impatience; RESOURCES; depletion; CONFLICT; glucose; choices

摘要

We test whether an environment of poverty affects time preferences through purely psychological channels. We measured discount rates among farmers in Uganda who made decisions about when to enjoy entertainment instead of working. To circumvent the role of economic constraints, we experimentally induced thoughts about poverty-related problems, using priming techniques. We find that thinking about poverty increases the preference to consume entertainment early and to delay work. Using monitoring tools similar to eye tracking, a novel feature for this subject pool, we show that this effect is unlikely to be driven by less careful decision-making processes.