Working Paper: NBER ID: w31726
Authors: Andy Brownback; Alex Imas; Michael A. Kuhn
Abstract: Healthy food choices are a canonical example used to illustrate the importance of time preferences in behavioral economics. However, the literature lacks a direct demonstration that they are well-predicted by incentivized time preference measures. We offer direct evidence by combining a novel, two-question, incentivized time preference measurement with data from a field experiment that includes grocery purchases and consumption. Our present-focus measure is highly predictive of food choice, capturing a number of behaviors consistent with self-control problems, which provides direct evidence for the common assumption that important aspects of nutrition are driven by time preferences.
Keywords: time preferences; food choice; health; nutrition; behavioral economics
JEL Codes: D03; H20; I12; I39
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| time preferences (D15) | food choices (D87) |
| higher patience (D15) | greater amount of fruits and vegetables (Q11) |
| higher patience (D15) | larger share of fruits and vegetables (F62) |
| patience (Y60) | better planning and delayed gratification (D15) |
| patience (Y60) | consistent consumption patterns (D10) |
| present focus (Y60) | fewer fruits and vegetables (L66) |
| present focus (Y60) | underconsumption of healthy foods (D18) |
| healthy subsidies (H23) | positive response from present-focused shoppers (D16) |