Alcohol and Self-Control: A Field Experiment in India

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Schilbach, Frank
• 署名单位: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.20170458
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 1290-1322
• 关键词: IMPULSIVE BEHAVIOR; COMMITMENT; temptation; savings; smoking; delay; addiction; IMMEDIACY; certainty; demand

摘要

This paper studies alcohol consumption among low-income workers in India. In a 3-week field experiment, the majority of 229 cycle-rickshaw drivers were willing to forgo substantial monetary payments in order to set incentives for themselves to remain sober, thus exhibiting demand for commitment to sobriety. Randomly receiving sobriety incentives significantly reduced daytime drinking while leaving overall drinking unchanged. I find no evidence of higher daytime sobriety significantly changing labor supply, productivity, or earnings. In contrast, increasing sobriety raised savings by 50 percent, an effect that does not appear to be solely explained by changes in income net of alcohol expenditures. (JEL C93, D14,I12, J22, J24, J31, O12)