Working Paper: NBER ID: w13713
Authors: Ernesto Reuben; Paola Sapienza; Luigi Zingales
Abstract: There is a large body of literature documenting both a preference for immediacy and a tendency to procrastinate. O'Donoghue and Rabin (1999a,b, 2001) and Choi et al. (2005) model these behaviors as the two faces of the same phenomenon. In this paper, we use a combination of lab, field, and survey evidence to study whether these two types of behavior are indeed linked. To measure immediacy we had subjects choose between a series of smaller-sooner and larger-later rewards. Both rewards were paid with a check in order to control for transaction costs. To measure procrastination we use the subjects' actual behavior in cashing the check and completing tasks on time. Our results lend support to the hypothesis that subjects who have a preference for immediacy are indeed more likely to procrastinate.
Keywords: Procrastination; Impatience; Behavioral Economics
JEL Codes: D03; G02
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| immediate rewards (J33) | procrastination (D29) |
| procrastination (D29) | cashing checks delay (E41) |
| impatience (D84) | delay in cashing checks (E41) |
| procrastination (D29) | completion times for surveys (C83) |
| impatience (D84) | completion times for surveys (C83) |
| naive procrastinators (D91) | lower subjective discount rates (D15) |
| sophisticated procrastinators (D91) | higher subjective discount rates (D15) |
| impatience (D84) | procrastination (D29) |