Intertemporal choice shifts in households: Do they occur and are they good?

Discussion Paper

Abstract: We examine whether and to what extent joint choices are more or less patient and time - consistent than individual choices in households. We use data from an artefactual field experiment where both individual and joint time preferences were elicited. We find a substantial shift from individual to joint household decisions. Interestingly, joint decisions do not only generate beneficial shifts, i.e., patient and time - consistent shifts. On the contrary, a majority of the observed shifts are impatient and time - inconsistent shifts. A number of observable characteristics are significantly correlated with these shifts in preferences from individual decisions to joint decisions.

Topics

Files and links

Country
Sustainable Development Goals
Publication reference
Carlsson, F. and X. Yang. 2013. Intertemporal choice shifts in households: Do they occur and are they good?. Working Papers in Economics, No 569, University of Gothenburg.
Publication | 18 February 2016