Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/150000 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
Nota di Lavoro No. 74.2016
Publisher: 
Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), Milano
Abstract: 
This paper estimates time preference parameters using commonly-applied methodologies, with the aim of investigating the link between these measures and actual economic behaviour. An experiment was conducted in the city of Thies, in Senegal, using the unique reference numbers of banknotes as a means of determining an individual’s willingness to save money. The findings of this experiment provide an innovative comparison between real choices, and choices made in the presence of hypothetical rewards. Our research indicates that individuals display a far greater degree of patience, when the possibility of genuine financial gain is made available to them. Our results show that hypothetical time preferences parameters are poor predictors of actual behaviour, prompting questions over the validity of commonly used measurements.
Subjects: 
Time Preferences
Randomized Experiment
Senegal
JEL: 
D01
D91
C93
O1
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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